Get Out of My Head
by ashleezak
Summary: Tony's past comes to call, revealing the violent secrets he'd tried to hide. As he deals with the damage left behind, the rest of his team has to handle the fallout from this. Infighting and blame turn the team members against each other, tearing the team apart. AU. Not for Ziva, McGee fans. Tony whump.
1. Chapter 1

_AN: I'm back! I know it's been a long time, but I haven't finished a fanfic in a long time, and I only post completed stories._

 _Anyway. Here are the notifications for this story. First, I own nothing but the scattered OCs. Just playing with the characters, and I'll put them back when I'm done. This strays from canon, a lot, so please don't gripe that what I did wasn't what happened in the show._

 _Second, and probably more importantly, if you are fans of Ziva and/or McGee, chances are, you will not like this story. Therefore, if you read this, DO NOT COMPLAIN! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I don't ship Tiva, I have never shipped Tiva, and I really don't like Ziva as a character. The same with McGee. I've just never liked the character. That has nothing to do with the actors. I think the actors did what they could with the characters they were given._

 _Third, I feel that the writers for NCIS have failed us as viewers and fans. If I tried to publish a book with the travesties they made of the characters, I'd be blackballed for trying to make anyone choke down such poorly written characters. The writers of the show took really good actors and churned out incredibly bad stories and character development, but because the cases were interesting, they kept us hooked. Kudos to Sean Murray, Michael Weatherly, Mark Harmon, Pauley Parrette, and Cote de Pablo for making those characters even remotely watchable._

 _Finally, this story exists because it wouldn't get out of my head, and it was interfering in my original work. Therefore, it has found its way onto the page. I will tell you, I mostly wrote this story for me. If you like it, awesome. I'd love to hear your feedback. If you don't, no hard feelings, since this was my own way of achieving some catharsis from what the writers did to the show. I don't like every story I read, but I don't sound off on the writer just because they wrote something I didn't like. So, hope you enjoy. ~ashleezak_

Get Out of My Head

Tony hesitated outside the door to his apartment. He'd planned for a relaxing night with some take-out, movies, and a beer or two with a friend, but the off-key singing from inside drove a spike through his stomach. His father was back.

Sighing heavily, he opened the door. His fears were realized with the image of his father slouched happily across the sofa. "Junior! Come on in! It's about time you got home. Look, grab a glass. We've got a lot to celebrate. I just made the best deal today."

"Dad, please, I have plans tonight." When he saw the drunkenly blank stare, Tony elaborated. "Plans here. In my apartment. That don't really include you."

"Well, son, if you're looking to get some, I'll be as quiet as a mouse. She'll never know I'm here. Seriously, let's celebrate."

Tony sighed again. "That's not the point, Dad. Look, go book a hotel room and I'll take you out to lunch tomorrow. We'll talk when you sober up."

The happy-go-lucky attitude vanished in an instant. "Are you calling me a drunk?" his father asked, his voice low.

Years of experience had taught Tony how to deal with his father. "No, of course not, but I do have plans and I would like to have my apartment back." Frowning, he continued. "How did you get in here, anyway?"

"The last key you gave me didn't work. I got your super to let me in."

Inhaling for a long count, Tony tried to keep a tight leash on his temper. He needed to have a serious talk with the superintendent. "I didn't give you a key last time. You took mine off my keyring."

"Serves you right. Should've given me a key. Then I wouldn't have had to take it. I'm your father. Shouldn't keep me out of your life."

"You threw me out of yours when it suited you. Why should I have to give in when you want back in mine?"

The words were out of his mouth before he thought about them, but once said, he couldn't retract them. Didn't want to, honestly. It was time his father saw him as an adult.

"Just what does that mean?" Senior said, standing unsteadily. When Tony remained silent, he repeated the words. "I asked you a question, boy."

"It means that your days of using me as a punching bag are over. I've bent over backwards for you and you take it as your due. No more. I'm done. Get out of my house. If you don't leave in the next minute, I will call a cab for you and put you in it. If you fight me on this, I will call the police and you can explain yourself to them."

A silent standoff ensued, and Tony counted down in his head. After a minute had elapsed, he shrugged. "All right then." Pulling his cell from his pocket, he looked down at it to dial.

That distraction was all Senior needed. He swung the bottle that was still in his hand and smashed it over Tony's head. Tony fell like a rock, and rage at seeing what his son had forced him to do drove him to kick his unconscious son. Senior only stopped when a shrieking fury attacked him, throwing him back onto the sofa. He stared up into the face of a banshee before the excess of good scotch and fear of the raging monster stripped him of his wits.


	2. Chapter 2

Abby Sciuto parked outside Tony's building. The movie night they'd planned was to be a new beginning. For too many years, their once solid friendship had faltered, starting when Gibbs went to Mexico and failing further when he was Agent Afloat. It wasn't like either of them planned it, but recently, she'd realized that too many things had gotten between them. The biggest had been their disagreements over his father. Abby couldn't understand Tony's reluctance to try to fix the relationship. Senior had been nothing but patient with his son's quibbling.

A tiny stab of guilt stabbed her as she recalled some of the bits Tony had let slip about his childhood. Still, after meeting his father, she had to believe that Tony had blown some disputes out of proportion. If anything like what Tony had hinted had actually happened, Gibbs would've just blown Senior away. Nobody messed with her Tony like that and lived. And since Senior was still living, Tony must be the one holding the grudge.

She noticed the nice car sitting in Tony's spot and wondered if that was his dad's car. Grinning, she imagined the perfect scenario to bring the two DiNozzo men back together. Her snuggled up on the sofa between the two of them, watching a movie. This was perfect.

Sneaking through the corridor, she grinned even wider when she heard both men. Their words were unclear to begin with, but she froze just outside of view of the still open door and listened.

The smile vanished when she heard Senior's voice turn nasty. A twinge of fear quivered in her gut for the first time; she'd heard that tone in the bars plenty of times, usually before the bouncers got involved. Tony's voice remained calm and quiet. That particular tone startled Abby as much as Senior's. She knew that when Tony went that route, he was serious, and a serious Tony meant trouble.

Peering around the door, she watched the standoff between the two of them. Senior was obviously intoxicated, as he wavered just trying to stand still. Tony glanced at his phone and Abby screamed.

When Tony hit the floor, she rushed in, throwing her bags to the side as she pulled out every trick in her book. Senior had thrown a couple of kicks at his son before Abby bull-rushed him, throwing him backwards and onto the sofa, despite him being larger and outweighing her considerably. She pounced on him, kneeing him in the groin. Surprised when he didn't react, she pulled back and saw that he was already unconscious. Ignoring him, she turned and examined Tony, who was still on the floor.

He was bleeding profusely from the side of his head, and Abby began reciting a rosary, hoping that it was only that head wounds tended to bleed badly. She didn't want to move him in case he had internal injuries from the kicks. Running to the kitchen to grab a roll of paper towels, she unwound a wad and put pressure on the gash. She grimaced as she felt the nasty knot swelling under her hand.

Fumbling with her other hand, she pulled Tony's phone to her, as hers was buried in the purse she'd flung during her entrance. Praying that Tony didn't have it locked, she swiped the screen and sighed as his contacts list came up. She immediately punched the first number.

As soon as she heard the call connect, she began babbling, "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs! Get over here to Tony's house now! He's hurt!"

Any irritation at being interrupted on one of his few nights off vanished at Abby's voice. _"What happened?"_

"His dad! He's here and drunk and he bashed Tony over the head with a bottle and then kicked him! Tony's bleeding all over the place!"

 _"Where's Senior?"_ Gibbs growled. He'd never liked the man, but he didn't think that Senior would ever pick a fight with Tony. With his training and a good thirty-plus years younger, Tony would wipe his father out in a fair fight. Gibbs grimaced. Fair fight was the key term. Of course his father would cold-cock him.

"He's passed out on the couch. I think I scared him to death," Abby said. "Or else I really hurt him when I tackled him off of Tony."

A chuckle welled up at the image of that, but he squelched it, as Abby wouldn't take it in context. _"Listen. I'm on my way. Call 911. Get an ambulance. Call it in as an officer down. Let them know he's a federal agent. I'll call Fornell."_

"Got it." Abby ended the call and did as he asked. When Senior began moaning, Abby picked up the neck of the broken bottle, ready to keep the older man at bay as she hovered over her fallen friend. However, all he did was moan and roll his head back and forth a few times, then settle back into stillness.

Tony never showed any indication of waking, either. She kept the pressure on the wound, adding more wads of paper towels as blood soaked through the others. Tears burned her eyes as she stared into her friend's face, wondering how they'd gotten to this point.

Once the ambulance and the cops showed up, she was replaced as they carefully put a neck brace on Tony and rolled him over, strapping him to the gurney and rolling him out of the apartment. Despite her pleas to go with him, the officers responding kept prodding her for details about what had transpired. She described the scene of what she'd overheard and seen, and in spite of the seriousness of the situation, she had a feeling that her actions amused the cops.

By the time she'd finished her narrative, Gibbs and Fornell walked in together. Abby ignored the officers and threw herself into Gibbs's arms, crying and muttering incoherently.

Waving his badge at the officers, Fornell took over the scene, since Tony had been identified as a Federal agent. The two Metro officers quickly agreed to hand over the case, as they'd recognized Gibbs from his few interactions with their precinct. Neither wanted a case that had them dealing with someone who had assaulted one of Gibbs's agents.

By the time they'd cleared the scene, Senior had started waking up. "Wha' the hell's goin' on here?" he slurred, staring in confusion at Fornell.

"This the bastard?" he asked for confirmation, having gotten Abby's story from the officers.

"You got some balls callin' me a bash-tard."

Fornell rolled his eyes before glancing at Gibbs and Abby.

Senior's gaze followed, and when he saw Abby, he paled and tried to scramble away, which did very little good in his condition. "Arrest her! She assaulted me!"

"Damn right I did," Abby snarled. "And I'll do more than that if you even _think_ of touching Tony again."

"Again? What the hell is going on?" Senior was sobering slightly, enough to finally recognize Abby behind her streaked makeup, disheveled hair, and bloody clothes and hands. "Abby? What is wrong with you?"

Fornell stepped in and took control again before either one said something that could be used to let Senior off. "Gibbs, take her and you two head to the hospital. Be with DiNotso when he comes out of it. Anthony DiNotso, you are under arrest for the assault of a Federal agent. You have the right to remain silent – "

"I know what my rights are," Senior said as he tried to twist away from the cuffs that were easily slapped on his wrists. "Why are they going to the hospital?" Suddenly he looked around, realizing where he was and who was missing. "Where's Junior?"

"Safe from you. Come on. You're gonna sober up and then we're gonna have a long talk. Until then, keep your damn mouth shut."

NCIS~GOOMH

The ride to the hospital was excruciatingly quiet. The actions and words she'd seen and heard whirled in her head. She'd seen Senior go from jolly drunk to violent attacker to confused old man. The genuine confusion on his face pulled at her emotions, and every time she started to surrender to the empathy she felt for him, she dredged up the image of that ugly fury and that heavy bottle smashing into Tony's head. Her own rage boiled up and she really wanted to prove how good she was at getting rid of a body.

Gibbs was dealing with his own issues. He'd known that Tony's details from his childhood were, if anything, understatements. His first instinct when he met the elder DiNozzo had been to shoot the bastard, but he realized that he was just as susceptible to Senior's charm as the rest of his team when he let the older man run tame around his team. He knew that McGee and Ziva would never see beyond the charming personality, since they tended to ignore what didn't fit in their neat little world view. He grunted. Even after all their years under him, they were still far too naïve.

Once at the hospital, they were shown into the waiting room and informed that Tony was still being assessed. They took seats on the hard, plastic chairs. Abby let her head fall onto Gibbs's shoulder and let the tears loose.

"Gibbs?"

He grunted.

"What happened to Tony?"

The question threw him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if he really was screwing up so much, why did you let him stay SFA? I mean, shouldn't one of the others have stepped up?"

Shock froze him solid for a long moment before he could dredge up an answer. "Why the hell do you think DiNozzo screwed up?"

This time it was Abby who was shocked. She sat up and stared at him. "You know. All the times that Timmy and Ziva had to cover his ass."

"Explain."

Blinking at that cold command, she frowned uncertainly. "Well, I mean, they keep coming into the lab, talking about Tony did this or Tony didn't do that. How they couldn't imagine how he held on to his job. How they could've or had handled the situation better than he could." Her eyes wide, she shook her head. "And you never said anything to correct them, so I thought Tony really was screwing up."

Gibbs felt his blood pressure climbing. "Give me examples. Now."

Feeling less confident and suddenly wishing she'd never asked the question, she laid out several occasions where Tim, Ziva, or both had criticized Tony's actions. Her voice got quieter and quieter as she noticed the fury building on Gibbs's face.

Gibbs was just glad that neither of his junior agents were within reach. The details Abby gave were easily recognizable. Yes, Tony's actions had been unorthodox in those instances, and under another team leader, he might have been reprimanded or 'redirected' (damn HR) for not following procedure. However, he did not break any laws or regulations, and his lateral thinking had led to breaks in the case. Yes, McGee and Ziva could've felt that going by established protocol might have been called for, but neither of them had the creativity to see things the way DiNozzo did. He tried to control himself, keeping his voice even as he explained that to Abby.

The explanation was just another shock on top of an already emotional evening. Her delusions about a benevolent Senior DiNozzo had been shattered, followed by the revelation that her friends – her so-called friends, she amended – had been lying and building themselves up at the expense of the one man who had always had her six, even to the point of protecting her with his own body.

"Why would Timmy and Ziva do that?" she asked, desperately grabbing at straws to right her sinking world.

Gibbs bit his tongue on his first answer. "I think they're threatened whenever DiNozzo does something that exceeds their low expectations of him."

"But don't they realize he's as smart as them?" she asked. "Maybe not IQ-wise, but he couldn't have gotten where he is by being as dumb as he pretends. I've always been impressed with his capacity for trivia, which has helped solve cases. A lot."

For the first time, Gibbs realized that he'd fallen into that same trap. He belittled DiNozzo frequently, but at the same time, silently depended on Tony's insight just as much as he depended on Ziva's contacts or McGee's computer skills. There was a reason why they were a team; no one person provided all the skills.

Why was it so damn easy to slap at Tony? Gibbs wondered. He sighed as the answer presented itself. Because Tony's skills were much less apparent than the others. His "work smarter, not harder" mantra meant that he could make it look very easy, giving the impression that he wasn't working at all. That was a fallacy, because he knew that Tony worked his ass off.

"I think that they're following my lead," he said, feeling the bile rise in self-disgust. "I've made it a competition to generate leads, to get the info faster, to nail the bad guys." Sighing heavily, he let his gaze fall from Abby's. "It was easier. I took the easy way."

Her precious Gibbs was admitting to a mistake. She swallowed hard. If he could do it, so could she. "I'm guilty, too. I believed that Senior was really trying, that Tony was the one holding on to grudges. But what I saw tonight? I've listened to enough of Ducky's tales. That kind of behavior doesn't just happen. And Tony. He was used to it. He sounded – I don't know. Resigned. Tired. He wasn't exaggerating about his childhood, was he? Senior really did beat him when he was drunk."

Gibbs wanted to reassure her, but after all the damage he'd done to Tony, he wouldn't betray that last bit of trust. "You need to talk to Tony about that."

At that moment, a doctor walked toward them. "Family of Mr. DiNozzo?"

"Yes," Abby said, not giving Gibbs time to answer. "How's Tony?"

"He is a very lucky man. He's lost a lot of blood, and has a serious concussion, along with a hairline skull fracture. However, at this time, tests have shown very limited swelling of the brain, and we hope that it will remain minimal. We have him scheduled for another CT scan in the morning to compare and make sure there are no complications. He also has two cracked ribs and some internal bruising, but none of his major organs seem to be affected. We are still watching for internal bleeding. Sometimes these things take a while to show up. He will be sore for a while, and he will continue to be monitored to make sure that no other issues develop. Overall, his initial scans look encouraging."

"Oh, thank you doctor," Abby gushed. "When can we see him?"

"Not just yet. He's still unconscious, and will probably remain so through the night. This will give him a chance to start healing."

"Can we see him?" Gibbs asked, not accepting the doctor's answer. When he saw the hesitation, he added, "I am his designated next of kin."

The doctor looked back and forth between the two of them, one face pleading, the other unyielding. "Fine. Five minutes each. But you have to go one at a time tonight. Visiting hours start early in the morning."

Gibbs gave in to Abby's pleading expression. "Fine. You go in first. I'll call Duck and let him know what's going on."

When she followed the doctor, he retreated to the waiting room and pulled out his cell phone. With his usual paucity of words, he quickly explained the situation and heard the ME's assurances that he would be in to check on the boy soon.

Abby returned to him a few minutes later, still tear-stained but a little more in control of herself. Gibbs gave her a quick hug. "Go home. Change clothes, wash up. Get some sleep. We'll handle tomorrow when it comes."

She nodded before blinking at him. "My car's at Tony's."

Gibbs handed her his key. "Take my car. I'll grab a cab. We'll get your car after Fornell releases the scene."

Nodding again, she silently left the building. Gibbs watched her with concern before turning and heading to Tony's room.

Tony was still and pale. He had a large bandage along the left side of the crown of his head, but there were few other bandages. Other than a nasal canula and a single IV in his hand, he was free of machines, which contrasted sharply to memories of Tony under blue lights and gasping for breath.

Gibbs took a seat. "Come on, Tony. You can wake up now." He got no response, but then again, he hadn't really expected one. Settling in, he waited.

Ducky walked in a half hour later, with concern and amusement warring for precedence. "You've certainly had your usual charming way with the nursing staff, Jethro," Ducky said with a barely concealed smile. "I was informed by no less than three people on my way in that you had stayed well past your five minutes and bullied your way into staying right where you are."

He shrugged. "He needs me more."

Humor fading, Ducky nodded. "I'm here now, and as his personal physician, I am allowed access to Anthony. You've done what you can here. Go home and rest." Glancing at Gibbs, he knew his advice would go unheeded. Sighing, he tried his next gambit. "You need to rest, Jethro. Given this situation, Anthony will not look kindly on having his past displayed openly to Timothy, Ziva, and Abigail, since the boy's gone to such lengths to keep his father's sins hidden from them."

"Abby knows."

Ducky's eyes widened. "Oh?"

"She walked in on the attack. Tackled Senior to keep him away from hurting Tony more. Saved his life, since Senior was so drunk he didn't even remember where he was."

"That's unfortunate. And quite a rude awakening for Abigail, I'm sure."

Gibbs grimaced. "For more than just her." He saw the coroner open his mouth to continue, so he cut him off before the elderly man could speak. "You're right about McGee and Ziva, but I don't think we can keep this one secret. Fornell has Senior under arrest."

"Oh, dear." Ducky picked up Tony's chart and skimmed it quickly. "I suppose that's for the best, but the boy won't thank us for revealing his secrets."

"Secrets that shouldn't have been kept quiet this long," Gibbs said. "If they'd been shared earlier, maybe we wouldn't have gotten to this point."

"That's as may be, but the whole point is moot now. Go home, Jethro. I'll watch over the boy. Get some rest and figure out what you're going to say to the others tomorrow. If Fornell is involved in this, I suspect the director has already been informed, but he will appreciate you personally apprising him of the situation."

Gibbs growled as the point hit home. "Keep me informed, Duck."

Ducky smiled sadly. "We'll be fine."

He caught a cab, and on his way home, he called both Fornell and Vance. Fornell updated him that Senior was sobering up in a holding cell, swinging between crying that he'd hurt his son and raging and screaming profanities that the worthless boy would end up dead in a gutter for forcing him to do what he did.

Hearing that, Gibbs just shuddered. Even in his darkest, and drunkest, days, he'd never blamed his girls for leaving him. Although the more removed from the loss he got, the more he regretted his actions afterward. The killing had brought no peace; vengeance was a cold substitute for his girls.

Needing a distraction, he dialed Vance.

" _What the hell's going on, Gibbs? I get a call from Fornell that he's got DiNozzo's father in custody and that DiNozzo's in the hospital?"_

"That covers the most of it," Gibbs said.

" _What the hell did DiNozzo do to piss off his father like that?"_

Fury shot through Gibbs at hearing the accusation, although he fought to keep his voice level. "I couldn't guess, other than maybe he finally stood up to his father's drunken abuse. It's not like he doesn't have a lifetime of experience to go off of."

There was a silence on the other line. _"His father is abusive?"_

"Yeah. Beat the hell out of Tony until he disowned him at age 12. Only comes back to visit when he needs money." When Vance didn't respond, Gibbs pushed the point home a little more. "Real father of the year type, huh?" He paused to let his words sink in.

" _I seem to have jumped to conclusions. What happened?"_

Satisfied that Vance was taking this seriously, Gibbs repeated Abby's statement and Tony's condition. When he finished, Vance didn't answer for another long moment.

" _When DiNozzo's recovered enough to talk, I want him to make sure that charges are pressed against his father, and we will work with the FBI to make sure they stick. He may have escaped justice when DiNozzo was younger, but he made a serious mistake assaulting a federal agent."_

Gibbs smiled as he heard the possessive nature in Vance's words. Leon might not like Tony personally, but he wasn't going to let someone get away with hurting one of _his_ agents. "See you in the morning."

NCIS~GOOMH

 _AN: I researched the damage that a glass bottle could do in a situation like this. An injury this severe is not typical, but it is possible. This one is actually much less severe than the worst case study I found. The medical issues that spring from this injury are of my creation. I think it's quite possible, given how incredibly complex the brain is, but it is still just the product of my own imagination. Please forgive the artistic license._

 _As a side note, I have personal experience with the head injuries. As a child, I suffered a depressed skull fracture, and suffered several concussions in high school and college. Not from abuse – I was a little wild and very much a redneck in the vein of "Hey, y'all, watch this." Because of this, I sympathize with the character of Tony getting bashed over the head so much, so of course, I do it to him again. Enjoy._


	3. Chapter 3

_AN: Ziva and McGee aren't very nice in this chapter. You have been warned._

 _Also, to the guest reviewer with the digestive issues, please see the final point in Author's Notes in the first chapter._

Abby had rushed into Tony's room, desperate to make the most of her few minutes with him. Scooting the chair as close to his bed as she could, she hunched over it and grabbed his hand.

"Oh, Tony, I'm so sorry. I know I'll never make it up to you, but I am really, really sorry. You know I love you so much, you're my best friend. Or you would be if I hadn't really screwed things up." She clutched his lax hand in hers and brought it up to her face, wetting it with her tears. "I should've believed you. I did believe you, but things got all hinky and I – I just…" Squeezing his hand, she sighed shakily. "I can't blame Timmy and Ziva for my part in this. If I hadn't had my head in the clouds about your father, maybe things would be different. He's so charming and it's so weird to think that someone so nice could do something so awful. But that's the whole point of people like that, huh? Hiding a nasty person with a nice exterior."

She chattered on until it was Gibbs's turn to visit. Knowing that she would come back in the morning, even if she had to call off work, she left the hospital, taking Gibbs's car. Once at home, she showered. Dressed in a fuzzy bathrobe, she carefully bagged her clothes, in case they were needed. Although the thought of testing those for Tony's blood nearly turned her stomach.

By the time dawn thought about making an appearance, Abby was up and dressed for work. Gibbs would have to go in to the Navy Yard, so she would too, but she had no intention of staying very long. Her time would be better spent at the hospital by Tony's side.

She drove by the hospital, but she was too early to visit. Ducky gave her a quick update that Tony had not woken up yet but the swelling on his brain had not worsened through the night, which was a positive thing. Ducky told her to eat a good breakfast and go check in at work before coming back to visit.

Following his orders, she grabbed something and took it back to the lab to eat. By the time she'd finished and was ready to face the day, it was almost 9:00. Walking upstairs to the bullpen, she saw that McGee and Ziva were already at their desks, both casting suspicious glances at Tony's empty desk. Gibbs obviously hadn't said anything to them, so she wouldn't either. She stood before him and handed him her bagged clothes.

"In case Fornell needs these for evidence," she said softly.

Gibbs nodded. "I'll pass them on. Thanks."

"Evidence for what?" Ziva asked, curiosity piqued.

She faced the woman with a frown. "It's for an FBI case," she said.

McGee frowned at Abby's subdued mien. "Are you all right? What's going on?"

"Gibbs'll tell you when he's ready," she said with a shrug. When she tried to walk out of the bullpen, Ziva quickly stood and blocked her path.

"Abby?"

"Ziva!" Gibbs snapped. "Leave her alone and get back to work. You'll be read in when it's necessary. Badgering Abby will do nothing but piss me off!"

Glaring suspiciously at the other woman, Ziva took her seat and looked at Gibbs. "Is Tony involved in this FBI case, too?"

"Yes," Gibbs said, but offered nothing more.

"What's the case, Boss? I mean, shouldn't we be involved, too?" McGee asked, hating that he'd been left out of the loop.

"You'll be read in when it's time," Gibbs said, irritated that they wouldn't let this go. "You both have reports to finish from last week's cases. I suggest you get those finished and turned in to me while I go speak to the director."

"Why doesn't Tony have to do his reports?" Ziva asked, her tone turning nasty. "Why does he get to be in the field for this joint case?"

"Because DiNozzo finished his paperwork yesterday," Gibbs snapped. "Stop yapping and start typing."

He gathered the bagged clothes and the files that he'd been working on and headed upstairs to Vance's office. At a nod from the receptionist, he walked in.

"Gibbs. Any news on DiNozzo this morning?" Vance asked, toothpick clenched in his mouth.

"He had another CT scan. Ducky said that he'd call when they had the results. Here are Abby's clothes from last night, in case Fornell needs them."

"What with Ms. Sciuto's eyewitness testimony, I doubt that we'll have too much trouble prosecuting this case. Particularly if DiNozzo testifies to the nature of his relationship with his father."

"That might be the problem, Leon," Gibbs said, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. "Tony's always been so damn secretive about his past. Hell, I've worked with him for all these years and only had hints of what Senior had done. Although the attack last night sure as hell opened my eyes."

Leon chewed his toothpick. "Has this not happened as an adult? I can't see why he would allow his father to assault him, as a cop or as an agent, and not put a stop to it legally."

"I don't know," Gibbs said. "If I had to guess, I'd say that he was still trying to see if his dad would change."

"The odds of that happening are miniscule. As an investigator, DiNozzo should know that," Vance said impatiently.

Gibbs shook his head. "You know family's different. Even getting treated like shit, DiNozzo could've held out hope that his dad would change. I know that he was pretty disappointed when Senior showed up the first time, acting all lovey and charming everyone here, but skipping out on a huge hotel bill and leaving Tony holding the bag. I told him to cut the old man off then, but he made excuse after excuse for him." He saw the director grimace and start to say something, but Gibbs held up his hand to stop him. "Have you not seen through his game yet, Leon? For all his armor that he wears around here, Tony is still a little boy looking for his father. And Senior plays on that, charming everyone here into thinking he's the good guy and Tony's the bad son. And every one of Tony's supposed friends here fell for it." Grimacing, he confessed, "Even me. Whatever flaws DiNozzo has, dishonesty is not one of them. I should've known better, hell, we _all_ should've known better, but Senior is very charming. So chew my ass out for my part, but leave Tony alone." Vance grimaced again, and Gibbs could see that he'd made his point. "What are we going to do about Ziva and McGee?"

"Why would we do anything about them?" Vance asked with genuine confusion. "They're Tony's teammates."

"I mean, they're going to side with Senior and blame Tony, and right now, that is exactly _not_ what he needs."

"You have very little faith in your agents, Jethro," Vance chided.

"No, I'm realistic. Senior charmed them completely. Hell, _your_ first words were about what Tony did to piss his father off."

The director squirmed uncomfortably. Silently acknowledging the hit, Vance sighed. "So what do you suggest?"

"If I know them, they've already started snooping to see why Tony's involved in an FBI case and they're not," Gibbs said. "Frankly, there is no reason they should know about any of this, as this is a personal case. But do I have your clearance to suspend them if they do hack in and find out about this?"

"Suspension? That's a little much, don't you think?"

The team leader shook his head. "Not when I told them they'd be read in when they needed to be, not before. Since I already ordered a hand's off on this case, they're disobeying a direct order from their superior. That _is_ a fireable offense, is it not?"

"It is." Vance grimaced. "Try not to do that. Your team's already short one agent. I'd rather not have to take you off rotation completely."

"Understood." Gibbs stood and gathered his folders, leaving the evidence on the desk. "I'll keep you updated on Tony's condition." Accepting Vance's nod as his dismissal, Gibbs walked back out balcony, leaning on the railing as he watched his agents.

Both were busy on their computers, but Gibbs's gut poked him as he noticed the glances between them. When Ziva grinned, he knew they were not doing what he'd put them to.

As he expected, Ziva jumped to her feet and stepped in his way to block him as he walked back to his desk. "Why were we not informed that Tony's in the hospital?" she demanded.

Gibbs glared and walked around her, locking the files in his drawer. A glance at McGee revealed that he was waiting for an answer. "I thought I told you I would read you in when it was necessary," he said quietly.

"But shouldn't we know that Tony's been hurt, Boss?" McGee asked.

A quick glance at his inbox showed that there had been no more paperwork placed in it, revealing that whatever they'd done while he was with the director, it hadn't been what he told them to do. "With me. Both of you."

They quickly fell in line and back up the stairs. However, at the top, they were confused momentarily when they did not turn to MTAC, as they'd expected. Instead, Gibbs frowned and jerked his head toward the director's office.

A glance between them communicated that Vance must be the one reading them in. Quickly, they caught up to Gibbs and followed him into the office.

Vance rolled his eyes at Gibbs, who shrugged a silent _I told you so_ back. Ziva stepped forward and took the initiative.

"Why were we not informed that Tony is in the hospital?"

Vance met her glare and met it coldly. "Since when do you liaise with the FBI, Agent David?"

She blinked at the blunt response and backed down a bit. "Our teammate has been injured, yet we have not been informed. If he has been working undercover again, should we not have been providing backup?"

"I haven't had much indication that you back him up when you know he's undercover," the director said, still holding her gaze. He saw Gibbs's confused look at that comment but held him off. "Agent David, what did your team leader order you to do this morning?"

"Finish reports," she said before doubling down on her attack. "But is paperwork more important than a fallen agent?"

Vance switched his glare to McGee, who was starting to look uncomfortable during this exchange. "Special Agent McGee, how did you and Special Agent David discover that Senior Field Agent DiNozzo was in the hospital?"

Gibbs allowed a flicker of a grin to appear at the director's use of titles, specifying Tony's superior one, while McGee blanched. He knew that Director Vance didn't really think much of Tony, so having the titles emphasized blindsided him. "Um…"

"It's not a difficult question, Agent McGee. How did you know that Agent DiNozzo was in the hospital?"

"I ran a search," he said softly.

"And what had you been ordered to do by your team leader?"

McGee sighed, seeing where this was going. "To finish our reports."

"Was Agent Gibbs unclear in his orders?" Vance looked between the two of them. McGee had shut down, his face white as he realized his situation. David was still looking belligerent. "Was Agent Gibbs unclear in his orders?"

"No, sir," McGee squeaked out.

"Agent David?"

"No, he was not."

"Did Agent Gibbs also specifically say that the two of you would be read in on this situation if it became necessary?"

Reluctant affirmatives answered him. Vance let the weight of his stare sit on the two agents for a long minute before he spoke again. "I am very disappointed in you both. Not only did you both disobey a direct order from your team leader, but you also deliberately interfered with a case after being told that it was on a need to know basis, and that at this point, you did not need to know. Either offense is grounds for termination.

"You are both hereby suspended for one week, without pay. There will be official reprimands put in your files, and if another infraction occurs of this magnitude, you will be terminated. This is your official warning."

"But Tony gets off scotch free? How is that fair?" Ziva demanded.

"Because Agent DiNozzo was doing what he should have been doing. You did not." Vance stared at them for another long moment. "Agent DiNozzo has worked undercover for not only this agency, but several others. This arrangement is not unknown to the two of you. For all that I do not approve of Agent DiNozzo's antics here in the office, he is an exceptional agent and his skills are utilized for the good of more than just NCIS. Your insubordinate attitude toward your superior has been noted, specifically from you, Agent David. If either one of you cannot work with Agent DiNozzo respectfully, please speak up now, and we will find you another team to join."

When he received no response to that, Vance continued. "During your suspension, there will be no attempts to see Agent DiNozzo in the hospital. There will be no more attempts to access this case. And if I find any indication that either of those conditions have been violated, you will not only be terminated but you will never work for the federal government or law enforcement again. Is that clear?"

The affirmatives were offered grudgingly, but the director took them anyway. "Now, you both have skill sets that are valuable to this agency. I expect this to be a blip on the radar and that there should be no further issues. Understood? Good. Leave your badges and your weapons. Dismissed."

Ziva slammed hers onto the desk and stalked out; McGee's exit was much quieter. Gibbs and Vance looked at each other for a moment before the director picked up the phone and gave orders to security that the two agents were to immediately leave the premises. Sighing, he collapsed back into his chair.

Gibbs took one across from him. "I'm sorry, Leon. I didn't think it would get this out of hand."

"What the hell's their issue with DiNozzo?"

"If I had to guess, jealousy. They think they're superior to him, so when he outshines them in something, they take it as a personal affront." He sighed heavily. "I can't believe they took it that far, though."

Vance grunted. "I still want to blame DiNozzo for all this, but…"

"But you can't. He can't help the situation with his father anymore than he can make his teammates respect him." Gibbs frowned. "And what were you talking about, them not backing him up?"

"The radio host case. Scuttlebutt said that they joked about turning the radio down so they didn't have to listen to him talk. I looked into it, but there was no evidence that they'd done it. So I had to let it go."

"And you didn't think I needed to know about it?" Gibbs snarled.

The director threw his toothpick away and picked up another one. "If I had found one shred of evidence, I would've read you in, because yes, you would've needed to know. I even listened to the tapes themselves, but all they picked up was DiNozzo's voiceprints. So I had no reason to take it as anything other than a tasteless joke." Vance sighed. "And with all the pranks that DiNozzo pulls around here, I chalked it up to turnabout is fair play."

"Big difference between supergluing fingers to a keyboard or booby-trapping a desk drawer and turning down a radio so you can't hear if a fellow agent needs backup," Gibbs groused. "Big difference."

Vance sighed again. "I know, which was why I was willing to go hard on them now. Whether they did it or not, they were insubordinate to even consider it. Anyway." The toothpick switched sides of his mouth. "Go visit DiNozzo. There's not much point having you here by yourself. I'll put Balboa's team on primary rotation until I can get a couple TADs to fill in."

Gibbs nodded and got up to leave.

"Oh, and take Scuito. But I need both of you back on duty tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: As I have limited legal knowledge, please excuse any mistakes I make or chalk them up to artistic license for the story. I am not a lawyer, or a doctor. I try to bend situations to make for a good story, not necessarily total accuracy. Thanks._

Gibbs dropped Abby off to pick up her car. She headed straight to the hospital, and Gibbs promised to meet her there later. He needed to make a stop first.

Flashing his ID got him into the Hoover Building and up to Fornell's office.

"Wondered when you would drop by," Fornell said.

"Had some stuff to deal with. How good are your computer guys?" Gibbs asked.

Tobias grimaced and shook his head. "Good enough to go toe to toe with your guys. Why?"

"McGee won't be in the office for a week. I want to know if there's any suspicious activity." Gibbs took a seat and sighed. "Tony deserves as much privacy as we can give him."

They sat quietly for a moment before Fornell spoke. "So, your junior guys went sideways on DiNozzo?"

"That's what they get for disobeying a direct order to leave things alone." Gibbs grunted. "I knew there was some testosterone flying between them, but I didn't think it was as bad as this."

"Why do I think you're talking about more than just snooping in one of our cases?"

"Vance just let me in on scuttlebutt that said Ziva and McGee turned the radio down when Tony was out on the job."

Fornell's eyes widened dramatically. "They left him without backup?"

"Possibly." Gibbs grimaced and drank from his coffee cup. "There was an investigation and nothing came to light, but still."

"Leaving your partner swinging is unacceptable. Can't believe you actually left them on your team after that."

"Innocent until proven guilty, in spite of wanting to kick both their asses." Gibbs drained his coffee cup and chucked it in the small trash can beside the desk. "So what's going on with Senior?"

"Finally sobered up enough to start screaming for a lawyer. As much as I hate it, I gave him his call. Don't think he'll appreciate what his lawyer said back. Any time you want to start talking to him, we can go for it."

Gibbs hesitated. "I don't think I should be in there, Tobias." At his friend's curious look, he shrugged. "Right now I just want to shoot him. Not very good for Tony."

"A word to the wise," Fornell cautioned. "It's not just DiNotso anymore. Based on Scuito's statement, we took the liberty of looking into a few of Senior's business ventures. It's not looking very good for him. Looks like a solid case for tax fraud, money laundering, and a few other felonies lurking in the shadows. Senior's getting careless in his old age."

"Nail him to the wall," Gibbs said. "When are you going to question him?"

"We can go now. I was waiting for you."

There was nothing Gibbs wanted more than to go into that room and beat the elderly man to pulp, but he wouldn't do that to Tony. Senior had made a fool of Gibbs, and if there was one thing he hated, it was to look foolish. He paced in the observation room and watched Fornell face Tony's father.

The elder DiNozzo hadn't fared well during his enforced stay. The dapper suit was wrinkled and stained, and while he'd washed his face and tried to comb his hair, he still looked hungover and rumpled.

"Where's Junior?" he demanded as soon as Fornell walked in.

"Out of your reach, for now."

Senior frowned and banged a fist on the table, wincing slightly at the noise. "Have you called my son?"

Fornell shook his head. "Nope."

"Then I demand you call my son. He's a federal agent. He'll clear this up."

"I am not calling your son."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because, Mr. DiNotso, your son is in the hospital and still unconscious."

That shook the older man. "What? What happened?"

"You don't remember? You were there," Fornell said, his tone falling just short of outright taunting. "You don't remember your son being taken to the hospital?"

"Why should I remember that? I was in my hotel last night. Speaking of which, what did you do to me? I don't remember being arrested." Senior leaned forward and tapped the table with his finger. "There are laws against this kind of harassment."

"There are also laws against assaulting federal agents. Assault with a deadly weapon."

Senior leaned forward over the table. "That's why my son is in the hospital? Arrest the guy who did it!"

"We did." Fornell let the silence do its job as the pieces slowly came together.

"Are you accusing me of harming my own son?"

"That would be correct."

The elderly man leaned back and scoffed. "That is absolutely ridiculous. I would never hurt my son."

Fornell grinned and opened one of the files in front of him. "Really? I find that very interesting."

"What the hell's that?"

"These would be the medical records for a nine year old boy. Diagnosis of a broken arm, broken collarbone, and a concussion. Child services was called, but somehow the case never was filed. Same child, two years later. Broken leg, fractured cheekbone, bruising from head to toe. Excuse given was a fall down the stairs, but a report filed by the attending doctor concerning the manner of the injuries was never brought to police. This doctor thought the injuries looked like a beating, not an accident."

Senior shook his head in confusion. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Would you like to know the name of the boy? Anthony DiNotso, Jr."

The outburst of laughter shocked both Fornell and Gibbs. "Junior wasn't abused. He had anything he could've asked for."

It was Fornell's turn to scoff. "Being disowned at the age of twelve and shipped off to military school hardly sounds like an ideal childhood. When we looked through DiNotso's records, it seemed rather too coincidental that his trips to the ER and the doctor skyrocketed when he was at home, versus when he was at school." Sighing, Fornell looked at the man across the table. "I have seen a lot of people sit at this table in this same situation. Murderers, terrorists, rapists, but I have to say, the scumbags that make my skin crawl the most are the child abusers."

"Slander is a crime, Agent. I will sue the FBI, and then, I'll have your job," Senior sneered. "My lawyer will have a field day with this farce. You have no idea who you're trifling with."

"Oh, I think I do," Fornell said. "Once we started looking into your background, we found all kinds of interesting things. I believe I have some friends at the IRS who have people who would just love to get their hands on your books. And some of your business partners? Let me tell you, I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when they find out that not only are you being investigated by the FBI and the IRS, but that _their_ business dealings will be looked at, too."

"What the hell do you want from me? All I see right now is you pathetically trying to blame me for my son getting attacked and threatening to illegally investigate my business."

"Oh, we're not trying to blame you for attacking your son. We don't have to. You did it front of an eyewitness, who gave quite a descriptive statement." Fornell leaned forward again and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "I just want to put your ass away, you miserable old drunk. No one has the right to cold-cock his own son, no matter the provocation. The only thing I think he's guilty of is trying to look for any kind of love or acceptance from you."

The quiet words rattled the old man more than anything said before. Clearing his throat and trying to summon his bravado, Senior said, "I want my lawyer."

Fornell smiled. "Here," and he pulled a business card out of his pocket and tossed it on the table.

"Public defender? Why would I want him? I want my personal lawyer."

"Well, I spoke with him before I came in here to see you. It seems that your lawyer wants nothing to do with you. Might have something to do with what I heard about all your accounts being frozen. Also, the fact that you had a unimpeachable witness describe your attack on a federal agent might have helped him make his decision." With a big smile and a wink, Fornell left the room.

Gibbs was waiting for him in the corridor outside. Even through the closed door, they could hear the incoherent shouts. "Did his lawyer really say that?"

Leading his friend back toward his office, Tobias laughed. "Oh, every word of it. His big-shot fancy-pants took off back to New York when he heard about DiNotso's assets being seized." He patted Gibbs on the back. "You've done your bit here. Doubt you heard anything you didn't already know."

"Having some details helped clarify some things that Tony hinted at," Gibbs said.

"Get to the hospital to be with your man. You just let me know when he wakes up so I can come talk to him."

"Not gonna let you in until he's ready, Tobias."

"Oh, yeah, saw that coming. But if we're going to make this stick, you know I have a job to do."

Gibbs smiled tightly. "I know. If you need any help, let me know. Still have Abby and you know what she can do."

NCIS~GOOMH

Ducky had prepared the day shift, because Abby walked right into Tony's room with very little hassle. The ME stood when she walked in, and Abby nearly lunged into his arms. "How is he?" she asked, her words muffled by his shoulder.

"Not much change, which in the case of a skull fracture and possible brain swelling, is very good news. On the other hand, I would be much more encouraged if he would show some signs of waking," he said. Pulling another chair to Tony's bedside, he sat and indicated that she should join him.

"How could he have done that? Not just because he's Tony, but because how could a father do that to his son?" Abby asked.

"Abigail, if I had an answer to that, I could solve so many of the world's woes," Ducky said sadly. "I wish I could diagnose and cure someone who could toss aside a son's love, but I can't." When she said nothing, instead leaning over and grabbing Tony's hand, he continued. "Abigail? Are you all right?"

"I screwed up, Ducky."

"You couldn't have stopped an event like that. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Not that." Eyes glistening with unshed tears, Abby sighed shakily. "I love Tony so much. I can't believe that I fell for his dad's crap. I let Tony down 'cause I believed his dad."

"There is a reason why people are called conmen," Ducky said, trying to walk a fine line. "Yes, you should have used a little more discretion, particularly after what Tony had let us know about his father. However, his father is an expert in taking people into his confidence. You are a very trusting woman, Abigail, sometimes unwisely." He held up his hand to halt her protests. "You know this is true, which is one reason that Tony accompanies you when you go out to those clubs of yours."

She ducked her head. "It's just that he was so – so – "

"Yes, he was. I must admit, even suspecting what I did about the man, he used his charm to disarm me, to some extent. But he is a narcissist, and everything he gives, he takes back in spades." Ducky frowned at her. "Jethro told me that you were the one who stopped his attack."

"Yeah," she said, her word a hoarse whisper.

"He may try to charm you out of testifying against him."

Abby looked up, her eyes wide as she shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no! I can't do that! Tony was nice to him, and he was the one who got nasty! He hit Tony when he wasn't looking!"

"I'm just saying, Abigail, that a tactic like that would be appropriate for a narcissist. No matter what, he will always look out for himself, first, last, and always."

She frowned. "There's no way I can change my mind. I don't know I can ever forget the sight of that bottle hitting Tony's head. It just shattered, and there was so much blood…" Her voice trailed off, and Ducky leaned over to pat her on the shoulder.

"My dear, I can only hope that some kind of good can come from this situation."

They sat quietly for a few minutes before Ducky excused himself. Abby scooted her chair closer and laid her head on his leg, still clasping his hand. "Tony, please wake up soon. I need to talk to you. I need to apologize. I love you so much, and I know I hurt you. I have to fix it. I have to make it better." Her voice rose and fell with her promises of how she would never be taken in again and that she would find some way to make it up to Tony.

The elderly coroner found her asleep in that position when he returned. Standing in the doorway, he watched them, unwilling to disturb the two. He wasn't particularly surprised when Gibbs joined him.

"How is he, Duck?"

Dr. Mallard sighed. "As well as could be expected, but as I told Abigail, I would prefer that he show some signs of waking."

"But he should be okay, then, right?"

"The fracture itself is not depressed, which would be much more dangerous than the slight fracture he received. However, the prolonged unconsciousness is concerning, especially the longer it goes." Ducky frowned. "Anthony has received many blows to the head, and as you should be aware, cumulative concussions can wreak havoc on brain function. Still, I am cautiously optimistic, since the damage does not seem to be extensive, that he will recover unimpaired.

"Has his father been questioned yet?"

"Yeah, Fornell took care of it." Gibbs filled the ME in, although he noted that Ducky did not seem to be surprised at the revelation of the abuse. They stood and watched as Abby woke up and looked around.

Since Ducky had been there overnight, he went home to rest, and Gibbs and Abby stayed for a while. Settling in, they tried to make small talk without mentioning the concern that was mounting the longer that Tony remained unconscious.

"So, when are Timmy and Ziva coming to see him?" Abby asked.

"They've been ordered to stay away." Gibbs sighed, since Abby's expression wasn't going to let him get away with that simplistic answer. "I gave them an order to leave the situation with Tony alone and to finish their paperwork. They ignored me. Vance suspended them for a week."

"But why shouldn't they come see Tony?"

He grunted. "Do you honestly think that either of them would ever stand up for Tony against his father? Or would they lambast him and side with Senior?" Giving her a pointed stare, he continued. "Like you did until you saw the real Senior?"

"Oh." The single word was eloquent.

"Besides, I think Tony deserves as much privacy as he can get during this mess. Do you really think that he wants to have any more of this public than is absolutely necessary?"

They both sat quietly. "If Tony doesn't want to press charges, what happens then?"

"Then we leave it to Fornell to go after the financial side. Good on you to mention about the new deal. Apparently, Senior's getting sloppy about hiding his dirty money."

"But that's not fair that he wouldn't get punished for what he did to Tony."

Gibbs shrugged. "Hey, in the end, does it really matter how we get him to pay? Capone was brought down for tax evasion. Besides," and he gazed steadily at Tony, "I think that hitting Senior in the wallet would be more devastating than taking the assault charge."

They grew quiet again. Gibbs felt the urge for coffee growing, but as he shifted to stand, he realized that Tony's breathing had changed. Leaning forward, he looked into his agent's face and let a sigh of relief escape. There was movement behind Tony's eyelids. Abby saw the activity and grabbed Tony's hand.

"Come on, Tony. Time to wake up," she pleaded. "Wake up for us."


	5. Chapter 5

Tony had known for a while something was wrong. He could hear voices come and go; he recognized Abby and Ducky and Gibbs. That probably meant that he was in the hospital again. Idly he wondered what had happened to him this time, because he couldn't remember a recent case where he could've gotten hurt.

It was like something was dampening him, keeping him from thinking clearly. Reaching for memories of Abby, since it was her voice he heard at this moment, he could see flashes of her, images of her in the lab, her running to him to give him overwhelming hugs, out dancing with him at a club, the two of them cuddled up on his sofa watching movies, even strange recollections of the two of them curled up together in a coffin. That one was disturbing, but after some focus, he realized it was her bed. There were also some bits that weren't so nice, visions of Abby pouting or her making a comment that he could remember burying hurt feelings.

Her voice rose and fell, but he processed the few words that filtered through the fog. Apologies and declarations of love, promises of never hurting him again – it all sounded like the Abby he could picture, but there was still something odd about it. What else had she done to hurt him?

Gibbs's voice penetrated too, promising that Tony wouldn't be hurt by him again. Hurt by who? Had he been attacked? Wasn't that what they did? Tony could see Gibbs in the same manner he'd seen Abby earlier, nothing connected, but bits of scenes, like someone had put a DVD player on fastest skip, so that each scene only had a picture but no context. Not all these scenes were as pleasant as the ones he saw for Abby; there were nasty comments, put-downs, head slaps. However, for every one of those scenes there were also ones of cowboy steaks at Gibbs's house, the occasional compliment, or even the time that Gibbs had given him the medals for safe-keeping.

Trying to sort through the jumbled and fragmented memories was exhausting, and Tony kept reaching for the calm of oblivion. It was so much easier to sleep than to try to sort out the mess in his head. Still, the mostly pleasant memories of Ducky kept him trying to move forward.

There was someone missing. Two of them, actually. McGee. The fractured picture show that Tony had realized was his memory didn't sort McProbie out. There were great memories, silly pranks, having the occasional beer, the high of closing a case, the joy of ganging up on someone else to pull a mutual prank, the pride of watching his Probie grow up and stand up to Gibbs. The bad, however, quickly took control. Nasty comments, the insubordination of ignoring orders in the field, the ambition that was threatening to corrupt a good agent. Tony tried to force those images out, but the more he tried, the more they pushed to the fore.

With those incidents, Ziva was introduced. Her disrespect and contempt was the first thing that leapt to mind, and Tony had to struggle to find the pleasant bits. Images of teasing briefly popped in before more insubordination overwhelmed him.

Three other female faces joined into the mess, two brunettes and one blonde. The feelings here were more positive, although that quickly morphed into the serious longing of loss. Kate, Paula, Jeanne… Names swirled, but he couldn't quite connect the names to the faces. The more he tried to sort them out, the more he summoned grief, leaving him to conclude that they were all dead.

Hearing Ducky's voice, he reached for it like a life preserver in a storm. The old man's quiet, rambling stories lulled him into a calmer state, and he let those stories carry him back to release.

The relief didn't last long. He struggled toward consciousness, hoping that waking would put an end to the piecemeal images. He heard Abby and Gibbs, but they talked for a bit, then were quiet. The quiet let the bad memories surge forward, and he didn't like them. Tony wanted his friends – he wanted the people he was comfortable with. Why wouldn't those nightmares let him go?

There was a bright light, and Tony realized that his eyes were open. He was awake. Two faces appeared in his line of sight, two faces that he knew. Gibbs and Abby. They would make things settle down. They could tell him what happened.

His first attempt at speaking resulted in a hoarse grunt, which was eased when Abby held up a glass of water with a straw. Sipping slowly, as he could remember previous visits to the hospital, he sighed as he felt the cold water hydrate all the way to his stomach. Closing his eyes in relief, he opened them quickly when his visitors called his name.

"What happened?" he asked, looking from face to face.

"Do you not remember?" Gibbs asked with a frown.

Shaking his head, Tony instantly regretted it. Pain from the top of his head lanced through, down to his jaw where he clenched his teeth.

"Head hurting?"

Tony somehow managed what he hoped was an affirmative noise. He let the world blur as he focused on anything but how much his head hurt. It might have been a minute later or an hour later, but eventually the pain dulled and he focused on the outside world again.

Abby was gone this time, and Gibbs was the only one left. "Hey, DiNozzo. You gonna stay with me this time?"

Frowning slightly, he said, "Did I leave?"

A smirk twisted Gibbs's face. "For a while. Does your head hurt now?"

"More of a lurking ache. Where's Abby?"

"Visiting hours are over, and only one of us could stay. Vance needs her for a case that Balboa's team caught today," Gibbs explained. "How are you?"

Tony would've rolled his eyes if he could've summoned the energy. "Weird. Can't put anything together."

"Put anything together?" Gibbs repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Memories are all jigsaw puzzle-y. Pieces are there, but I can't put them together." Tony looked at him. "I know you. I see pictures, but it's all tossed about." He frowned. "Why do you hit me?"

Gibbs blinked in shock. "Hit you?"

"On the back of my head."

Unsure how to handle the question, he dropped his gaze guiltily. "You never complained before."

Tony squinted. "So, because I don't complain, you keep hitting me? In front of everyone?" Wincing as he tried to shift, he asked, "Why would I let you do that?"

He opened his mouth to give his pat answer, but stopped. "The first time I did it was to get you to focus. After that, well…" Gibbs let his words trail off before manning up. "It became a habit."

Tony frowned again. "That's assault. Not appropriate for a police officer."

It was Gibbs's turn to frown. "Police? Tony, you're not a cop anymore. You're with NCIS. Federal agent."

Blinking rapidly, Tony fought through more jumbled images. "NCIS. Okay, right. I came here from Peoria?"

"No, Baltimore. You got your shield in Baltimore," Gibbs explained.

"Are you sure? I could swear I was in Philly first, then Baltimore, then Peoria." When he saw his boss shaking his head, Tony closed his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face. "See what I mean about pieces all mixed up?"

"It's okay, Tony. You don't have to put everything together this minute." Concerned, Gibbs patted his arm. "You've got another concussion. Things are bound to be confusing for a bit."

Despite his confusion, Tony was feeling more coherent the more he talked. Gibbs was right on that count. If he was here for yet another concussion, then things would sort themselves out in time. "So what happened? I don't remember how I got in here."

"Well, I'd ask you what's the last thing you remembered, but under the circumstances, I don't think that would work," Gibbs said. Hating that he was the one who had to break the news, he proceeded with more caution than he normally would have. "Your dad was at your apartment when you got home. He attacked you."

Images of the man swirled in Tony's mind. "Drunk?"

"Yeah."

The setting didn't match with the recollections of his apartment, so he thought that he was probably remembering another incident. "He put me here with just his fists? I'd think my training would've been enough to hold him off this time."

Guilt ratcheted up in Gibbs as he heard Tony's qualifier of _this time_. "No. He blindsided you with a liquor bottle. Hairline fracture and a bunch of stitches."

Tony lifted his hand to explore the bandage on his head. "Aw, did they have to shave a lot of hair off?"

A genuine smile spread at hearing the Tony he knew emerge. "I don't know. I haven't seen underneath yet."

They were interrupted by a nurse, who saw that her patient was awake again and went to get the doctor. Gibbs stepped out for a coffee while they poked and prodded at DiNozzo, giving him a bit of privacy.

He knew that confusion was par for the course after a concussion; hell, he'd lost fifteen years of his life to amnesia after that explosion, but the mixed-up memories concerned than he wanted to admit. He relied on DiNozzo for his excellent recall, his capacity for trivia, although the pop trivia was annoying, it was occasionally useful. Still, he hoped that the confusion was only temporary.

The fact that DiNozzo remembered anything was encouraging. Gibbs sat in the cafeteria, sipping the awful coffee. He hoped that there wouldn't be a long recovery period. His agent tended to get antsy if he was held away from the field too long.

Tony's easy acceptance of the explanation about his father was more disconcerting to Gibbs. The confirmation that Senior had been abusive, even into his adult years, did not bode well for keeping the assault charge. He hoped that he could keep Tony from giving in to his father's bullying again.

Draining his cup, Gibbs frowned into is as he contemplated if his stomach could handle a refill. He decided to risk it. Returning to his table, his thoughts returned to Tony.

DiNozzo had never called him out on the head slaps before. That had been a surprise. Gibbs ducked his head, trying to subdue the embarrassment that swept through him. He really hadn't meant to keep it up; the first one really _had_ been a wake-up call. The case they'd been working on had gotten to both of them, and while Gibbs had internalized and channeled his frustration into an overload of coffee and marathon hours, Tony had gotten sugar rush on and was bouncing all around like a squirrel. The single smack had been enough to get him on track.

The continued slaps had been nothing more than the slight rush that Gibbs had gotten from watching Tony react to the hit. He'd never backed down, but there was the flash of emotion that made Gibbs feel powerful. That was another example of how easy it had been to push DiNozzo down, to keep him from getting too cocky. No, Gibbs admitted, to keep him from getting too confident. For all Tony's play-acting, he wasn't cocky.

Self-reflection had never been one of Jethro's strengths, so he grimaced and finished off the disgusting coffee. Hoping that the doctors had finished their evaluations, he headed back to DiNozzo's room.

Tony was asleep again. The doctor motioned him out into the hall. "Mr. Gibbs?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sure you want to know how Mr. DiNozzo is doing." He took in Gibbs's nod and continued. "The scans we've run confirm that the intercranial swelling has mostly subsided, which is excellent news. As I'm sure you're aware, any kind of skull fracture is dangerous, but as this one is not depressed, I feel that Mr. DiNozzo should make a full physical recovery."

Gibbs caught the emphasis. "Physical recovery?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "I'll be making arrangements for a specialist to come talk to Mr. DiNozzo. He seems to be having some issues with his memories."

"Yeah, he said it was like a jigsaw puzzle."

"Exactly. I'd like him to talk to someone about the stresses of trying to sort out his memories." A slight frown creased the doctor's face. "I'd also like to schedule a consultation with a neurologist. It's possible that there is another cause for the partial amnesia."

"I thought you said he'll make a full physical recovery," Gibbs said, mirroring the frown.

"I said he _should._ The odds are excellent that he will, given time to recuperate. However, it is possible that there is a neurological issue. If that is the case, I would rather be safe than sorry."

Gibbs nodded. "All right. Dr. Mallard will be back here in the morning."

"I am well acquainted with Ducky. I'll get him caught up in the morning." The doctor smiled. "It's unusual to have a coroner as your personal physician." That comment drew a small grin from Gibbs as well. "Now Mr. DiNozzo should sleep the rest of the night. I understand that you'll want to talk to him, if he wakes, but for now, sleep is the best medicine."

"I figured he'd be on concussion watch."

"No, he should be past that danger. Just encourage him to sleep. If he seems to struggle, let one of the nurses know and they'll give him a sedative."

"Okay. I've got to make a few calls now, but I'll be back."

The doctor nodded in understanding. Gibbs stepped out to the waiting room and began making calls. The first one was to Vance and was a quick, factual update of Tony's condition. As expected, Vance accepted the report and informed him to get Fornell in as soon as possible so that they could move forward with the case against his father.

The next call was a lot more emotional, but it was always better to have a happy Abby than the tragic Abby that she'd been since the attack. He got her off the phone by saying he still had to call Ducky. The call to the elderly man was much more succinct, and Ducky promised to be at the hospital first thing in the morning to consult.

The next call was the hardest. He dialed Fornell's cell.

" _Is he awake yet?"_

Gibbs had to smile at his friend's blunt greeting. "Yeah, but we may have a problem."

" _He not want to press charges?"_

There was a pause before Gibbs answered. "I'm not sure about that. What I do know is that he is struggling with his memory."

This time, it was Tobias who hesitated. _"Amnesia?"_

"Not as such. He remembers stuff, but it's all out of order. I honestly don't know how soon he'll be up to giving a statement, if at all."

" _Damn it."_ Fornell sighed. _"I really wanted to nail this bastard for everything. Guess I'm getting greedy in my old age."_

"You and me both. Look, we've got Abby's eyewitness testimony. As long as we can keep him from dropping the charges, does it really matter that DiNozzo doesn't remember the actual event?"

" _Probably not. Especially since Sciuto is used to giving evidence and her credibility is excellent. Just let me know when I can talk to him."_

"Go ahead and come here in the morning," Gibbs said. "We'll try it. If he can handle it, great. If not, we'll try it again later. Do you have enough to hold Senior?"

" _Oh, yeah. He broke down and called that public defender."_ Fornell laughed. _"Damned fool didn't believe me. Called his own lawyer and got an earful. Course we taped all his calls, but it was a pleasure to hear that stuffed suit give DiNotso his comeuppance. The public defender is trying to get him released, arguing advanced age and all that, but between us and the IRS guys, he's not gonna be able to afford bail, and the judge that's presiding over the arraignment is a hard-ass. I doubt Senior's charm will have any effect."_

"For once, Senior may have to face the music. About damn time. Anyway, still got more calls to make. See you in the morning."

With his typical brusqueness, he ended the call. The next two calls were the ones he agonized over the most. Ziva and McGee deserved to hear that Tony was doing better, and voluntarily giving them updates might curb their need to poke into Tony's privacy, but for the life of him, Gibbs didn't want to play their game. Based on their behavior, they didn't care about Tony as much as they needed to satisfy their own curiosity. Once again, Gibbs berated himself. If he hadn't gotten so bent out of shape at the revelation of DiNozzo's role in The Frog fiasco, he might have noticed his junior agents' insubordination earlier.

Deciding that a little bit of prevention might be best for Tony, Gibbs quickly dialed McGee's number. He gave a quick update that doctors were optimistic that Tony would make a full recovery. A rather subdued McGee thanked him for the information. That had been the easy call.

He sighed and dialed Ziva.

" _Gibbs, I don't understand this,"_ she began.

"Ziva -"

" _Why didn't you stop Vance from suspending us? It is ridiculous to expect us to waste time whittling our thumbs doing paperwork instead of trying to find whoever put Tony in the hospital."_

Gibbs mentally corrected her idiom before speaking. "Several reasons. The first and foremost was that by ignoring my direct order, you brought the suspension on yourself. I'm not going to defend you just because you think I should. Ignoring a direct order is grounds for termination, Ziva. Think about that."

" _Don't be stupid,"_ she said. _"Finding Tony's attacker is more important than paperwork. Unless he was doing something he shouldn't have been doing? It wouldn't be the first time that Tony has gone off on his own."_

Rage surged through him. "Did you just call me stupid?"

There was a pause. _"Of course not. I just meant that Tony is more important, yes?"_

Nice recovery, Gibbs thought wryly. "Tony's attacker has already been arrested, and you and McGee poking your noses in where they don't belong could jeopardize the case. It is an FBI case, not NCIS, so you have no reason to be involved. Need to know, David. I know damn well that Mossad uses that, along with chain of command, so you don't have a leg to stand on to justify your snooping." He drew in a deep breath, trying to stem the anger at the woman. "I called you to let you know that the doctors are optimistic that Tony will fully recover."

" _All the more reason to…"_

"And secondly," Gibbs said, cutting her off, "DiNozzo was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. I am sick and tired of hearing about you running your superior officer into the ground just because you disagree with his methods. Tony has much more experience than you do, and he has skills that you do not appreciate. If this continues, Agent David, I will take action.

"Don't forget that when you forced me to choose before, I chose DiNozzo."

The silence on her end made Gibbs wonder if he'd finally gotten through to her. "Am I clear, Agent David?"

" _Yes."_

Given the direction the conversation had taken, he shouldn't have been surprised when she hung up on him, but he was. Sighing heavily, he went back to the room. Tony was still asleep, so Gibbs pulled a chair to the side and stretched out his legs under the bed, settling in for a long night. He was prepared to sit and watch, but dozed off almost immediately.


	6. Chapter 6

Timothy McGee sat in front of his home computer. There was a blank screen facing him. He thought that maybe he could write away some of the emotions swirling through him, but it wasn't working.

To have Director Vance suspend him was a shock, to say the least. Never in his wildest nightmares had that scenario ever occurred to him. And to have it happen over DiNozzo… No, he shook his head. Tony didn't cause this one. He had disobeyed a direct order from Gibbs.

It would be easy to blame this on Tony, or Ziva. She was the one who'd demanded he find out where Tony was. Tim could try to say that she forced him to do it, but the truth was that he was just as curious as she was. It hadn't been too difficult to find that he had been admitted to the hospital the night before. That had been a bit of a surprise. However, before he could try to find out the specifics of how Tony had gotten there, again, Gibbs had come back and interrupted them.

The glee of being included in whatever Tony was involved in quickly soured. He knew that Director Vance didn't like Tony. However, having the director stand up for Tony was something he'd never expected. Intellectually, Tim knew that Tony wasn't the idiot that he pretended to be; he'd been crucial in solving so many cases that dumb luck couldn't be believed. It was just so unbelievably frustrating when he'd slave over tracing bank statements or tracing cell phones or following email trails that when Tony waltzed in with one of his illogical leaps of logic and tied the whole thing together that McGee…

Tim sighed. He was jealous. He was jealous that Tony made it look so easy. No matter what McGee accomplished, Tony showed him up and made it look easy at the same time.

Needing to channel some of this, he began pounding on the keyboard, taking his frustrations out on Agent Tommy. He wasn't sure why he kept denying that his characters weren't based on his teammates; anyone with half a brain could see the parallels. So he wrote, twisting his own feelings of inadequacy into Agent Tommy's flaws, switching the personalities so that he could vent in a way that he deemed the least harmful.

When his phone rang, it startled him out of a scene. Glancing at the display, he was surprised to see Gibbs's name pop up. He answered, and his boss gave him a quick update on Tony's condition. Tim thanked him for the information, and the call ended.

Relief and shame vied for prominence. Tim was relieved that Tony would be okay, and for the first time, he was ashamed that he realized he hadn't once that day wondered how Tony was. As much as he tried to subdue the memories, images of Tony showing up with beer after a bad case, or Tony teasing him to lighten the mood when they were all exhausted came to mind. As annoying as he was, and it was too easy to focus on the annoyances rather than the reason, the distractions were usually necessary.

Once again, Tim poured out the negativity into his writing. He doubted that this bit would ever make it into a book; it was too out of character for Tommy, and didn't fit into the story thus far. Still, this was only fiction, so he could demonize Agent Tommy and make Agent McGregor into a saint, which suited his mood.

The next time he paused, several hours later, he went to the bathroom and then got himself something to drink before returning to the computer. He was halfway across the room when someone started banging on his door.

"McGee!"

Tim rolled his eyes. He did _not_ need to deal with Ziva tonight. "Not now," he said, and sat down at the computer.

"Open up or I'll pick your lock."

Sighing at the necessity of facing her, he said, "Just a minute." He saved and closed his file, not wanting to let Ziva see what he was doing. He'd go back and delete that part later. Going to the door, he opened it. "What do you want?"

She barged in and went right to his computer. "Find out what Tony was doing for the FBI."

"No."

Ziva turned to stare at him. "What do you mean, no?"

"I mean no. Hacking will only get me fired, and I don't know about you, but I'm not real happy with getting suspended." He deliberately sat on his couch, making a point to stay away from the computer.

"McGee…"

Tim frowned at her. "Why do you want to know?"

Her expression turned from demanding to sly. "You know what happens whenever Tony goes undercover. Someone always gets hurt. Like he did. So we need to – "

"Bullshit," Tim spat. "What's really got you going, Ziva? The fact that someone else is using Tony, or the fact that you just _have_ to know everything that happens in his life?"

She blinked at his outburst. "Are we not supposed to watch his six?"

"Like you did when we turned the radio down on him?"

"You promised to never bring that up again," she snarled.

He snorted. "The only reason you're trying to keep that quiet is because the director looked into it. You knew it was wrong when you suggested it."

"And you're the one who actually did it. So who's the one who's more wrong?"

Tim shrugged. "We're both guilty. Which is why, as much as it pains me to say this, I can't really argue too much about getting suspended. We deserved it for that. Do I think Gibbs is pissed and this was his way of getting back at us? Yes, I do. But this is a lot better than having him go off on us for turning the volume down."

Ziva paced. "Right or not, this farce of a suspension is ridiculous. We need to find out what he was doing."

"No, _we_ do not." He shifted on the sofa. "You may need it, but I don't. Given some of the shit positions Tony's gone through, I have decided that he can have them. If they don't want our help, that's fine with me. And maybe that's why Gibbs is on the warpath. The Hoover boys didn't back Tony up like they should have, and he got hurt. Let him deal with it."

Leveling a glare at her teammate, Ziva narrowed her eyes. When McGee didn't react, she shifted tactics. She walked toward him, more of a saunter, and took a seat next to him.

Tim's eyes widened. He'd seen her pull her seductive ploys against Tony, and feeling the broadside of that attack hit him, he wondered how Tony could laugh it off like he did. As she narrowed the space between them, he felt the blood flow alter rapidly.

"I can think of a very good reason to continue with this," she purred in his ear.

Rational thought fled as she ran her hand down his chest, settling uncomfortably near his lap. "Ziva…"

"Oh, come on," she said softly. "You're no prude, are you?"

When her hand shifted again, he stiffened and tried to move away from her. "Gibbs would –"

"What Gibbs doesn't know won't hurt him."

Tim grabbed her hand and pulled it up. "You do this first. You want your information, you pay for it first."

Her grin made him feel uncomfortably like the hen facing the fox, but he let her pull him back into his bedroom. If he was going to go down, he might as well make it worth it.

NCIS~GOOMH

Tony woke. His sleep had been surprisingly free of dreams, which was a distinct relief. He hated that his thoughts were so scattered.

Glancing around, he saw evidence that Gibbs had been with him during the night, although the chair was empty at the moment. Seeing an empty coffee cup clued him in as to the reason. Coffee. That led to an array of images of coffee runs and coffee cups, joking about his boss's coffee addiction. Tony smiled. Piecing together that information helped.

Movement at the door drew his gaze. The man standing there smiled when he saw Tony was awake. "Hi. Dr. Mallard said that you had woken up. He had to take care of something before he could come see you. He'll be here as soon as he's done."

"Come on in and have a seat." Tony knew his face. Images of women's lingerie came to mind, and it made him smile. "Autopsy Gremlin."

"You remember me," Jimmy said, a huge relieved smile lighting up his face. "I wasn't sure you would. Dr. Mallard said you had trouble with your memory, and I just wanted to make sure things were cool before I just came in and started talking about stuff you didn't remember."

"Jimmy, breathe," Tony said with a laugh. "I don't have amnesia. I remember stuff, it's just all disjointed right now." He winked at him. "It's not like I was the one leaving women's underwear around autopsy."

Palmer flushed bright red. "Oh, come on, Tony. Of all the things for you to remember."

"My lips are sealed," Tony promised. "So, how are things going?"

Their talk turned to innocuous topics, and the more they talked, the more of their friendship solidified in Tony's head. There were still gaps, and he couldn't quite recall why there was a sense of sorrow that was connected to the lingerie, so he tried not to pry too much.

Gibbs returned but didn't interrupt the conversation. Jimmy, however, used his arrival to cut the visit short, although he swore he'd come back after work to visit again. Tony smiled at the reassurance and turned to his boss.

"So, what is it that you don't want to talk about?" Tony asked.

A relieved grin lit Gibbs's face. Tony's instincts were still on point. "Several things, actually. How do you feel this morning?"

"Usual fuzziness after a concussion. Scalp is stiff and ribs are sore, but other than that, I feel better. What's up?"

"Do you think you can handle talking to Fornell?"

"Fornell?" Tony frowned. "Why do I need to talk to Fornell?"

"FBI handles assault of federal agents." Gibbs watched Tony's face carefully.

"Assault of federal agents. You mean my dad. He wants to talk to me about my dad."

"Yeah."

Tony looked at Gibbs. "Are you gonna try to talk me out of pressing charges?"

The shock on Gibbs's face was profound. "Talk you out…?" He stared at Tony. "No, I wouldn't try to talk you _out_ of pressing charges."

It was Tony's turn to frown. "Then why… Gibbs, tell me exactly what happened."

Gibbs hesitated. "I'll tell you later, after you give your statement." He ducked his head. "You understand that I can't give you that information until after you've given your statement."

"When is Fornell getting here?"

"Soon. Then Vance needs me back in the office."

Tony nodded slowly. "All right. Let's get this over with."

The two men sat in silence, each lost in his own thoughts. For all that he was thrilled that Tony seemed to be getting better, something had changed about him. Gibbs couldn't place his finger on it, but he knew that he'd figure it out sooner or later.

Tony went back to Abby's apologies. All he had to go on was hearing her talk before he was really awake, since she hadn't been in to see him while he was conscious. Her declarations of love hit him hard, and he needed to see her again to see if she meant them. The memories of arguments about his father explained a lot, but he really needed to talk to her to sort all this out.

Fornell knocked at the door, and both men looked up with differing levels of relief. "DiNotso. Can I come in?"

"Sure. Let's get this over with."

Tobias pulled up a chair beside Gibbs. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Thanks." Tony sighed. "I guess you want me to tell you what happened."

"Only if you're up to it."

Tony looked back and forth between the two men and saw the sympathy in their gazes. "I'll do what I can, but I don't know if I can be of much help."

"I know. Just do what you can." Tobias took a deep breath, knowing that he was treading on quicksand with Gibbs. "Tony, can you tell me what happened to you when you went to the hospital when you were nine?"

Blinking at the unexpected question, he asked, "Is this really relevant?"

"If we're to make the case that your father's behavior has always been abusive, we can go for a stiffer sentence."

Concentrating for a few minutes, Tony recounted the incident in a toneless voice. Gibbs showed little reaction save for the clenching and unclenching of his fists. Fornell took notes, careful not to reveal his own disgust at the details. The second incident was related in the same way, with Tony adding a couple other incidents that hadn't made their way into his medical files.

With that completed, Fornell proceeded on to the assault. "Can you tell me what happened on the day of the assault?"

Tony frowned. "Honestly, not much. I remember making plans with Abby, I think, but otherwise, that whole day is pretty much a blank."

"Do you remember where the incident took place?"

"Again, honestly, no I don't. I can picture him taking a swing at me, but I remember holding him off. And it wasn't in my current apartment, so I'm sure that isn't the time you want."

"Just how many times has he done this to you?" Gibbs asked, unable to keep silent.

Tony shook his head impatiently. "I learned how to handle him, as an adult. Besides, he only gets violent when he's drunk. And he wrote me out of his life so many times that it was only when he needed money that he even bothered to show up."

The depth of information revealed in his casual answer stunned the other two men. Fornell cleared his throat. "Are you willing to follow through and press charges against your father?"

Frowning, he said, "Gibbs asked me that, too, in a back-assward way. Why wouldn't I be? The man put me in the hospital just because he was drunk. Yes, I want to press charges."

The two older men exchanged glances but didn't address this statement directly.

"Is there anything you can think to add to this?" Fornell asked.

Tony shook his head again. "Your case is gonna have to hinge on Abby's testimony, not mine. When his lawyer finds out that my brains are scrambled, nothing I say is gonna hold up in court."

Fornell and Gibbs grimaced at the truth in that. "Fortunately, Dr. Sciuto will be an excellent witness. And your father is working with a public defender."

"What? What happened to Larry?" he asked, referring to the man Senior had kept on retainer for years.

"Well, once Larry discovered that the IRS has frozen your father's assets, he is no longer interested in representing Senior," Tobias said, a faint grin appearing for the first time in the interview. "I can't seal your medical records here, but I'll see what I can do to keep this as quiet as possible."

"No, don't jeopardize the case," Tony said. He glanced between the men. "You've sicced the IRS onto him?"

"Yeah. It seems that the deal that he was celebrating was of particular interest to several different agencies," Tobias said with an evil grin.

Glancing at Fornell, Gibbs shifted in his chair. "Have you gotten all you need? I'm gonna need to update Vance on all this."

"Yeah, I think we're done for the moment." Fornell stood. "Let me know if you remember any more. Take care of yourself."

Tony nodded and watched the men go. The interview had tired him more than he expected, and within minutes, he'd dropped off to sleep.

NCIS~GOOMH

Gibbs walked out of the hospital with his counterpart.

"So, what was with DiNotso?" Tobias asked. "I've never seen him so … forthcoming."

"Good description," Gibbs grunted. "I don't know. There are several things about him that are odd."

Fornell shrugged. "Doesn't he get hit in the head a lot?"

Gibbs cracked a smile. "Yeah, he does. Still, a skull fracture is enough to rattle anyone."

"Take care of your man. We'll talk again soon."

Watching him walk to his own car, Gibbs stood and weighed Fornell's words. Tony had been straightforward in his answers, something that Gibbs had never seen before. DiNozzo was a master of deflection and misdirection, gently diverting attention from himself to keep from revealing what he didn't want to reveal. Since waking, Tony had been an open book.

Standing in a parking lot didn't get anything done, so Gibbs headed to his car. He'd discuss this new Tony with Ducky after the doctors hashed out all the medical details.

When he got back to the Navy Yard, he headed straight to Vance's office. Vance waved his hand at a chair. "So, did Fornell get to talk to DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, and you'll be thrilled to know that he's pressing charges against Senior."

The director looked up at Gibbs's tone. "And is there an issue with this?"

"No, no issue." Gibbs sighed. "It's just not like Tony."

Leon sat back and leveled an odd look at Gibbs. "Not like him how?"

"Forthcoming, was how Tobias phrased it. Look, for all Tony talks, he rarely talks about himself." Jethro caught Vance's expression. "Not that way. I meant he's like me. Doesn't share anything personal."

"I could say that this is a blessing, but …"

"But then he wouldn't be Tony." Gibbs was uncomfortable sharing this with Vance, but he needed to feel something out. "If this is an indication of some other issue, say one that could affect his profession abilities…"

"Ah," Vance said. "You want to make sure that DiNozzo still has a place here." He leaned back and chewed his toothpick. "As long as he passes the physical and psychological requirements, I fully expect DiNozzo to resume his position. However, I cannot justify keeping him on if he can't perform to the same levels of any other agent here."

Gibbs sighed. "I wouldn't expect otherwise, Leon."

"How is DiNozzo doing?"

"Are you asking because you're concerned, or because you're the director?" Gibbs asked.

Vance hesitated before answering. "Fair enough. More as the director, but as much as the man irritates me, I have no desire to see him suffer. Particularly since his own father has dealt the damage."

Satisfied for the moment, Gibbs nodded. "Physically, he's better. It's the memories he's still struggling with. Palmer showed up for a while this morning, and even though he tried to put a good face on it, I could tell that Tony didn't remember as well as he pretended. Although his recall into his childhood was pretty accurate." He grimaced. "Tony also brought up a good point. Once the lawyers find out about his memory issues, any of his testimony is as good as trashed."

"That's unfortunate," Leon said. "However, look at the bright side. That he could appreciate and make that point shows that his mental acuity is still sharp."

"Fair enough. So what is it that you have for me to do?"

Vance leaned forward. "Since you have no team for the moment, I'd like you to consult on Balboa's case. It started out as just a homicide, but it seems that the lieutenant was involved in some heavy financial fraud."

The thought of a distraction relieved him, and he felt a flicker of shame that he'd have something to focus on rather than DiNozzo's issues. "I'll go see what I can do." He stood up to leave.

"And Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"When you see Tony again, tell him I said to get well soon." Vance smirked. "Unless you think he'd prefer flowers and a card."

Gibbs snorted at the director's unexpected humor. "I'm sure the sentiment will do."


	7. Chapter 7

He woke to an unexpected warmth in his bed, and when he stirred, he realized she was staring at him. "Come on, McGee. I have paid. Time for you to work."

Groaning, he stretched and acknowledged her point. "Fine. You cook breakfast, I'll hack. Then you need to leave."

Ziva stretched sensuously and smiled as she watched him leave the bedroom, his trousers hanging open. He had been much more entertaining in bed than she'd anticipated. Briefly, she regretted not taking this route with him before. She'd made her play for DiNozzo many times over the years, but for some reason, he always flirted his way out of her advances. She'd begun to wonder if he was gay, but if he was he hid it well. His relationships with Benoit and a few others, plus his engagement before joining NCIS pointed to dispelling that notion.

Still, if McGee could find out what was going on, her playing the feminine stereotype and cooking for him would be worth it. In fact … Ziva grinned. This particular arrangement could play out to her advantage. McGee was quite handy with the computer, and with his unexpected skills in the bedroom, she could blow out steam and not have to pay markers for her contacts to do her hacking.

Knowing how to play the part, she left her hair rumpled and pulled on one of his shirts, buttoning it just enough to keep covered. She slipped into the kitchen and rummaged around in the cabinets, assembling ingredients to throw together a basic coffee cake. Once it was in the oven, she sauntered back out into the living room.

McGee sat at the computer, paying no attention to her arrival. There was a moment of irritation that he didn't acknowledge her presence, but at the same time, he was doing what she wanted. She tamped down the irritation.

The oven timer beeped, and she went to retrieve the food. Plating up a large slice of the coffee cake, she poured a cup of coffee to go with it and set them on his desk.

Distractedly, he sipped the coffee, never letting his focus waver from the monitor. She went to the kitchen to get her own serving before settling in a chair to eat and watch him.

By the time she finished, she'd taken her dishes back to the kitchen and stacked them in the sink. There was a limit to how far she'd play her role, and washing dishes was not part of that. Walking back into the living room, she peered over his shoulder. "Why is this taking so long?"

"Because they're watching out for me," he said. "I know the signatures of most of the FBI hackers. They've put up some pretty good firewalls. It's gonna take a while before I find a way around all this." Glancing at her, he frowned. "Unlike you, I want to keep my job."

"Do you really think that they'd fire us because of DiNozzo?" she sneered, trying to suppress the recollection of Gibbs's threat.

"Before this mess happened, no. But Vance suspended us, Ziva. I don't plan on stepping out of line and risking my future for your inability to stay out of Tony's private life."

"So your ambitions are more important than finding out why we're being left out of Tony's situation?" she asked.

"Absolutely." He returned her glare. "Go get dressed. As soon as I get in here, you're leaving."

Ziva gaped at his dismissal of her as he turned back to his computer. If she hadn't already invested so much into this information, she'd teach him to disregard her. Stomping back to the bedroom, she ripped his shirt off, not caring that she popped off two buttons in the process. She dressed in her own clothes and stalked back out to sit on the sofa.

McGee struggled to get into the case file. It was more than he'd let on to Ziva. They had apparently tagged his home computer, so that any route he took, he was being headed off. Thus far, he had been able to stay anonymous, but one slip and they'd know that he was prying.

Feeling Ziva's glare drilling into his back, he decided to try one more tactic. He hated using this, since it was only good for a single foray, but if it got her out of his house, he'd risk it. He opened the file.

It was the result of many hours work, a cloaking virus that would destroy any tracers that could be attached to him. He ran the program, tested it a couple times to make sure it was secure, and then made another attempt into the FBI's system. This time, he got in.

"Holy shit!"

"What?" Ziva demanded, leaping up to stare over his shoulder. "What is he involved in?"

"Nothing," McGee said.

"What? That's impossible," she snapped.

"No, I mean he's not involved in a case. Well, technically he is, but Tony wasn't undercover. His father is under arrest for assault of a federal agent."

Ziva stared in shock. "That's ridiculous," she said. "Why would Tony frame his father?"

McGee started to comment but hesitated. There had been a few comments, offhand and quickly passed over, that indicated that his father had been not so nice in his youth. Having met the man, Tim doubted that they were true and chalked it up to Tony just griping about the old man. However, as he looked through the statement included in the case file, he saw Abby's involvement and doubted that it was what Ziva assumed.

"That son of a bitch!"

"Who?" Tim asked, startled by her outburst.

"Tony. Who does he think he is, Mr. High and Powerful, that he can set up his father like this? What's he after, money? Using the old man to pad his bank account?"

McGee didn't even bother to correct her. "You got your info. Get out."

She glared at him, but obeyed his order and stormed out. He breathed a sigh of relief when she was gone. Looking back through the file, he shook his head. Abby wouldn't lie. Abby loved Senior. He'd heard her and Tony arguing over why he wouldn't make up with his dad. Apparently, this explained why.

Quickly he got out of the file, making sure that he hadn't been tracked. He even rerouted his path through several dozen different IP addresses, trying to mask his trail in the off chance he had been detected. He couldn't be too careful; he had ambitions, and sleeping with Ziva was not worth the risk.

He'd thought that Tony had been a fool for not banging Ziva when she'd come on to him, but in retrospect, he could see that maybe Tony had seen through her. Either that, or he was just very circumspect about their exploits. Tim doubted that explanation, though. As much as he bragged about his other conquests, if he'd nailed Ziva, he surely would've let everyone know.

McGee sat and stared at the blank screen again. He had been ordered by the director not to do what he'd just done. This was another direct order he'd disobeyed. Chances were that he'd never be caught, and so no harm, no foul. However, if he was caught, he'd be screwed. If he came forward first, confessing what he'd done, he might be able to parlay that into some sort of political capital. The big question was whether or not he wanted to face Gibbs's wrath when he found out.

He could transfer to another team. It would set his plans back, several years at least, but he could keep his nose clean and still work his way up. Maybe the west coast. No, Callen and Gibbs were friends. Same with New Orleans. Hawaii? Nice thought, but a little too much out of the way. Miami was a possibility. Or Europe. The NCIS offices in Naples or Rota might be a good place to go, enough to hide out and be out of sight, out of mind, but not so much that in a few years when this all blew over that he couldn't transfer back to DC.

The more he considered it, the more advantages he came up with. Vance would be disappointed in him, but if he could rat out Ziva in exchange for the transfer, then maybe, just maybe, this whole fiasco would be worth it.

McGee brightened as he thought about this. Even better, he wouldn't have to deal with DiNozzo anymore. Let the next poor probie suffer the superglued keyboards and childish jokes. He smiled. This would work. It had to.

Picking up his cell, he called into the director's office and requested a meeting.

NCIS~GOOMH

Gibbs was buried in Balboa's case. Twice he'd caught himself starting to ask Tony to do something, or for McGee to run a search. Irritated that he didn't have his team available, he focused on what he could do to help.

His phone buzzed and chirped. Scowling at it, he realized that someone had texted him.

 _DiNozzo's case file hacked. Call Fornell._

"Something wrong?"

He glanced at Balboa, who was staring at him. "Yeah. Gotta go deal with Fornell." Accepting the look of sympathy, he excused himself to go up to Vance's office. Walking in without knocking, he said, "Someone just hacked DiNozzo's file."

Vance straightened in his chair. "Well, isn't that interesting. I just got a request from Agent McGee to speak privately."

Fury rose as he quickly connected the dots. "Call Fornell. Let's see what he's got on this."

The director raised an eyebrow at the order, but he picked up the phone and dialed. When Fornell answered, he quickly switched it over to speaker.

" _Fornell. Gibbs?"_

"This is Director Vance. Agent Gibbs is here as well," Leon said.

" _Then I assume you're both aware that someone took an unauthorized look into DiNotso's file?"_

"Indeed we are. Do you know who the culprit is?"

" _No,"_ and both men could hear the frustration in Fornell's voice. _"Our guys lost the trail when the hacker started rerouting his trace."_

"Any suspects?" Gibbs asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

" _Well, since you gave me the head's up to keep an eye out for McGee, I'd have to say it was probably him. Not a shred of proof, though. He's good."_

Vance cleared his throat. "He might be good, but he's not as smart as he thinks he is."

There was a pause on the other side of the call. _"Really? Want to let me in this hunch of yours?"_

"Not until we're sure," Vance said. "Do you have anything else?"

" _No, not at the moment. Hey, wait a minute. Maybe there is. Will you loan me Sciuto to see if she can find any proof?"_

Gibbs and Vance exchanged looks. "I think that can be arranged," the director said. "She's working on another case right now, but I'm sure she can help out as soon as she's done."

" _Thanks. Oh, and Gibbs?"_

"Yeah?"

" _I don't care if McGee is your man. If I find proof he hacked into my house, I'm gonna take him down."_

"If he did it, I'll help you, Tobias."

The call ended with silence. Gibbs sighed. "Do you really think McGee is stupid enough to hack into the FBI, then make an appointment with you to come tell you about it?"

Leon tossed his splintered toothpick in the trash before pulling out a fresh one. "I think McGee is smart enough to try to wrangle his mistake into an advantage for himself."

"Damn," Gibbs said. "I knew he was ambitious, but I never thought he'd take advantage of his own teammates to further his plans." Sinking back in the chair, Gibbs asked, "So what do you plan to do about it?"

The toothpick moved from one side of Vance's mouth to the other. "I think that we could be jumping to conclusions. I know how you feel about coincidences, but it is possible that we're reading too much into this. I plan to hear him out." Holding up his hand to stem Gibbs's protests, he continued. "I can't be seen as partial in this, Jethro. There is too much at stake, for DiNozzo and NCIS, to be seen as less than fair."

"Damn politics."

"Yes, many people do," Leon said. "However, even you can see how cleanly I have to play this."

"Yeah, I do. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

Vance leaned forward. "Do you think, for one minute, that I enjoy this? In the space of a few days, I've seen a good agent have his career put at risk by an abusive old drunk and two other good agents risk their own careers by being so damn nosy that they can't follow direct orders. Do you honestly think I like any of this?"

Heaving a sigh, Gibbs rubbed a hand over his face. "No, I don't. I just hate this."

"As do I, Gibbs, as do I."

NCIS~GOOMH

Randall Avery was nobody's fool. He had plans, big plans, and they did not include remaining as a public defender. When the call had come in, a couple of the others in the Public Defenders' office had passed when they saw the names involved in the case. Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. was money and Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. was a federal agent under Leroy Jethro Gibbs. No one else wanted to touch anything that had to do with those three names.

Randall, however, looked beyond the potential mess and saw a way into some real money and influence. DiNozzo, Sr. had recently lost his retainer. Yes, the IRS had frozen the man's assets, but DiNozzo did business with some very powerful and wealthy men. Men who would be willing to part with a generous percentage to protect their own assets.

Taking the case, he immediately set out to see how to disassemble the case against the elder. The biggest problem was the forensic scientist's eyewitness testimony. The only weakness he could find there was her own admission that she assaulted DiNozzo, Sr. However, as the father had been kicking his unconscious son, he wasn't sure that he could twist that to his advantage. Abusive father getting attacked to protect a helpless victim would go a long way with a sympathetic jury.

The best first step would be to attack the son. He immediately put in calls to his contact at the hospital. The advantage of doing some ambulance chasing work on the side was that he had an in at almost every medical center in DC.

His contact had provided some very interesting information about the younger DiNozzo. With the concerns about his 'jumbled' memories, he could play that to attack anything the agent said in court. Sleazy, yes, but effective, and worth to risk to get in close with his father.

As soon as he'd gotten his information together, he made an appointment to consult with his new client.

"Mr. DiNozzo, I'm Randall Avery," he said as he walked into the conference room.

DiNozzo scowled at him. "And I suppose you're going to try to get me out of this mess?"

"Oh, I _know_ I'm going to get you out of this mess," Avery said with a smile. "I've looked over your case, and I've found some interesting facts."

"Like what?"

"I believe that with some adroit questioning, I can discredit anything your son will say as testimony."

Senior looked interested, despite the frown that never left his face. "And just how will you accomplish that?"

"It seems that due to the head injury that Mr. DiNozzo, Jr. suffered, his memory has been adversely affected."

"You're going to plead amnesia? Wouldn't that typically be of more use for my defense?" the old man scoffed.

"He doesn't have amnesia. He just is having issues with his memories being jumbled, therefore putting anything he says in doubt."

"Interesting." Senior regarded the man with a little more respect. "Go on."

"Now, I will admit, the eyewitness testimony is going to be the most difficult to overcome."

"They won't even tell me who the eyewitness is."

Avery's eyes widened. "Really? Because the eyewitness is Abigail Sciuto."

"You're kidding," Senior said. " _Abby_ is the one testifying against me?"

Biting his tongue against the instinct to call the man out for being stupid enough to perform the assault in front of any eyewitness, let alone one like Dr. Sciuto, Randall answered his client's question. "Yes, she is."

"But Abby loves me," he said. "All I have to do is talk to her. She won't take sides between me and Tony."

That was just what Avery needed to hear. "Then I think we just won your case."

"But what about the IRS inquiries?"

"They were only instigated at the request of the FBI and Dr. Sciuto's statement. If the charges are dropped, we can file against the FBI and put pressure to have the other investigations dropped."

Senior smiled. "Mr. Avery, it seems I may have underestimated you."

"You did, indeed, sir."

"But I'll need to be out of here to see Abby and try to talk her out of testifying," the old man said.

"Well, the bail hearing will be soon. That's going to be the most difficult part of this. If I can get you released on your own recognizance, all the better. But since this is against a federal agent, I'll be honest. The chances of that are pretty slim. However, if we can get bail set at a reasonable amount, then we might have a chance."

They wound up their meeting with both men pleased about the situation. Senior was escorted back to his cell, and Avery left to see what other dirt he could dig up to help out his client.

Senior had barely gotten back to his cell when the guard announced he had a visitor. Surprised, he followed to see who had come to see him.

Seeing Ziva sitting on the other side of the glass, his mood rose even more. Ziva had been such a lovely diversion on his other trips into Washington. She would be an excellent addition to his defense.

"Hello, Anthony," she said.

"My lovely Ziva. How I wish we were meeting in better circumstances."

Glancing around, she frowned. "I can't believe that Tony would stoop so low as to put you in here," she said.

Oh, what an opening. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, does Tony really need money so badly that he would do this?"

"Tony wasn't after money," he said, trusting that he could play this bluff through. "He found out about us, my dear."

Ziva thought that over. Yes, that did make more sense than trying to blackmail his father. Despite his appearances, Tony hadn't really shown any acquisitive habits. "Are you saying that he attacked you out of jealousy?"

Senior shrugged. "It's not the first time he's blown up over my choice in relationships." Not a word of that was untrue, even if it was designed to give the wrong impression. The last time Tony had gotten upset enough to confront his father was when Senior had brought home a stepmother only three years older than Tony's seventeen years. That disagreement had ended in shouts and another black eye for Junior. But he wasn't about to tell Ziva that.

"This isn't the first time Tony's jealousy of me has blown up," she said. "At least you're still alive. Unlike Michael."

There was no way Senior could leave that statement alone. He seduced all the details out of Ziva, filing them away for his new attorney. He offered the appropriate amount of sympathy, loving that she was feeding him details to further his defense. He played up to her sexuality, making promises that he would probably keep when he got out of jail.

When she asked if there was anything she could do to help him out, he artfully plied financial aid from her in the form of posting his bail. Senior knew that their entire conversation had probably been recorded, but even in that event, she had given him the seed to sow all sorts of doubt to the jury about the actual events that had happened that night.

It would probably be easier to dodge this charge if he could actually remember what happened, but he'd take what he could get. He wrangled another promise from the woman to take her story right to Randall Avery, trusting that the man was as conniving as he'd promised to be. With her assurance that she'd do everything in her power to make sure Tony would pay for the shoddy treatment of his father.

Senior's mood was much brighter than it had been when he finally got back to his cell. He knew that it would not be as simple to talk Abby out of testifying as he'd tried to portray to his attorney, but all he really had to do was plant a doubt, or even just compromise her.

He lay down on his bunk, and unwillingly, his mind went back to the report about Junior. Had he really injured his son badly enough to cause memory problems? Surely he hadn't… Forcing his thoughts to other things, he focused on the future. Maybe he'd take Ziva on a little trip. The Caymans were always a nice place to visit, and he was sure that she looked excellent in a bikini.


	8. Chapter 8

_AN: I would like to thank all the lovely reviews. Real life limits the amount of time I can spend individually answering reviews. Also, to the reviewer who pointed out my flaws in the legal process, I thank you and ask that you can accept my artistic license for the coming chapters._

She wasn't thrilled when Gibbs came down to ask her to go help Fornell; she'd planned to spend time with Tony. However, how could she say no to helping out Tony? And Gibbs knew something that he wasn't telling her. This whole situation was not helping steady her world.

Abby did something she rarely did, she refused her CafPows and focused on running the tests for Balboa's case. The sooner she finished these, the sooner she could go help the FBI, and the sooner she could go see Tony. She had to talk to him, to see that he was okay with her own two eyes. Ducky had warned her that Tony was struggling with his memory, but she couldn't believe that he'd forget her. He couldn't forget her. She'd help him remember everything.

Once the tests were to a point where she could safely turn them over to the other techs, she told Gibbs where she was going and headed over to the Hoover Building. They must have cleared her ahead of time, because she was waved through with directions to Fornell's office.

Fornell explained the situation and showed her to where his computer guys were working. She waved at a couple of them that she knew from scientific conferences or ones that she had collaborated with on occasion. They pointed her toward a computer, gave her the necessary passwords to get her logged into the FBI system, and let her go.

She was tracing an unauthorized foray into one of the FBI casefiles. Even without knowing the particulars, she was pretty confident that it was Tony's case. That suspicion was validated when she saw a line of code that she had seen before.

Timmy! What the hell did he think he was doing? Gibbs had specifically ordered him and Ziva to stay away from Tony.

Once she knew what to look for, she began picking apart the trail. Even though McGee had routed his trail through dozens of IP addresses all over the world, she knew what algorithm he had used to program the trail. It wasn't as random as he'd hoped. Abby frowned. More than likely, he hadn't realized that she'd be the one looking at the program that she had advised on from time to time.

It took her several hours, but she traced his path all the way back to his home computer. Fornell took the information, promising to share it with Gibbs immediately. Abby immediately threatened that she'd be informing Gibbs, too, so to not drag his feet to quibble over jurisdiction. Fornell's genuine assurance that this was a case where the FBI was more than happy to help out NCIS assuaged her righteous anger.

Still, after all was said and done, visiting hours at the hospital were over before she could get to Tony. Frustrated, she went home and thought about calling him, but she didn't want to apologize over the phone. That was cowardly. Instead, she got online and ordered some flowers to be delivered first thing the next morning, since she knew she had to work the next day.

As she went to bed, she couldn't help wondering just what the hell had been going through Timmy's head to pull such a jackassed move. Gibbs had enlightened her to Timmy and Ziva's errors in judgement about Tony, but could they really be that jealous of him? Yes, Tony was good at his job, instinctive in a lot of ways, but he was just as quick to give McGee a quick thumb's up when he came up with a lead, or to thank Ziva when she contributed. Yet, for all the times that they all worked in the lab, she honestly couldn't recall either of them reciprocating.

Was Tony perfect? Absolutely not. Abby loved him, but she'd be the first to admit that he could be a jackass at times. There were times when he carried his teasing a little too far. But honestly, she cringed when she examined her own behavior. She'd pouted to get her own way, she'd badgered Tony into doing things he had good reasons not to do, she'd bullied Timmy to get him to do things. She was as bad as the others had been.

Closing her eyes against the images, she shuddered as the bottle shattered over and over against the inside of her eyelids. Tossing in her bed, she pressed her face into her pillow to smother the sobs that forced their way out again. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't his father have been the nice guy she wanted? Instead, he'd been a mean old drunk who attacked when Tony had looked away.

It was still her fault, she heard Ducky's voice say in her head. She had let herself be charmed by a conman. She'd wanted Senior to be the nice man she'd thought he was, instead of seeing the selfish man he really was.

Then she got mad. She got mad at him. Yes, she fell for the act, she'd have to pay for that. But he was the one who set out to deceive. Her blood boiled as she realized that her Tony was a such a strong man to have charted the path he'd taken, to distance himself from the debauchery that Senior indulged in.

She would make it up to Tony somehow.

NCIS~GOOMH

Tony talked to the psychologist that his doctor had recommended, a fact that took both Gibbs and Ducky by surprise. He'd also consulted with the neurologist, but as his memories were beginning to gel, they'd decided to hold off on any sort of testing until it was determined that his memories would not improve anymore on their own.

After several days, he was released from the hospital with instructions that he would rest. He could return to desk duty as soon as Ducky cleared him from any residual effects of the concussion. Because of his memory issues, however, he could not be cleared for the field without passing all the physical and psychological tests required for all NCIS field agents.

With Tony looking to return to work, Gibbs and Vance set about resolving the situation with Ziva and McGee. Vance had postponed McGee's requested meeting until they were positive they had the evidence in hand. Fornell had done his part by providing the recordings of the conversations between Ziva and Senior.

When they were prepared, Vance set up his office to record the meeting. McGee entered, and quietly took the seat that the director offered.

"So, Agent McGee, why did you request this meeting?" Vance asked in an almost amiable voice.

McGee relaxed slightly. "Well, sir, I wanted to clear the record on something." He shifted in his seat slightly and cleared his throat before continuing. "I know that you gave us orders to stay away from Tony and his situation," he began. "However, after much coercion on Ziva's part, I have to shamefully admit that I ran a search for her."

"Concerning Agent DiNozzo," Vance clarified.

"Yes, concerning Agent DiNozzo. I know it was in direct violation of your directive, and for that, I sincerely apologize."

Vance leaned forward with a slight frown. "So, what kind of information did this search reveal?"

McGee swallowed heavily. "It revealed that Tony, Agent DiNozzo, had been attacked by his father, who was intoxicated, as opposed to being injured in the line of duty while working for a joint operation with the FBI."

"So, instead of illegally hacking into a joint operation that you had been ordered away from, you hacked into an active FBI case that you had been ordered away from." The director leaned back again. "Agent McGee, I don't really understand what you hope to gain from this confession."

Sweat broke out on his face, and McGee struggled to maintain his composure. "I had hoped, sir, to let you know so that you could use the information to do damage control with Ziva. I don't understand her obsession with Tony. It's … unnatural."

Vance blinked at that. He hadn't expected that. "Is there any other way that Agent David has expressed her obsession?"

McGee weighed his options. If he ratted Ziva out about the radio, then any chance of him salvaging his career would go down the tubes, since he had been the one to actually turn it down. Drawing what he hoped would be a stabilizing breath, he decided to hold that card in reserve. "Yes, sir. Based on a couple of offhanded comments, I believe that it's possible that she and Tony's father may have been … intimate."

Unfortunately, that piece of information didn't particularly surprise Vance. There had been several rumors that Ziva used sex as currency, both inside the NCIS ranks and elsewhere. What she did on her own time was her own business, but a connection like that compromised both her and NCIS. "And do you believe that, if true, this information could be acted upon?"

"Sir, I think that she could try to use that information to aid Tony's father in his case."

That was an understatement. He'd had to order Gibbs to stay away from her when they'd listened to the taped conversations Fornell had brought. "Again, you've put yourself in a delicate situation, Agent McGee. Disobeying two direct orders, one from your team leader and one from me. You've demonstrated no advantage to yourself by admitting these things, and in fact, crippled yourself. I have every right to terminate your employment right now."

Tim blanched. "I know. I also know that if I somehow manage to stay employed with NCIS, I can't stay here in this office. I won't ask Tony to work with me. I understand that I have grossly abused his trust. All I would ask is to be transferred to another office, where he won't face the difficult decision of having to wonder about trusting me."

Vance was stumped. On the one hand, he did have to give McGee credit for trying to come clean before he was found out. He'd called for a meeting before Gibbs had been advised of the casefile being hacked. On the other hand, the man had deliberately disregarded direct orders.

"I hope you'll indulge me, Agent McGee, but I seem to be in a quandary here." He pulled out the records that Abby had produced, tracing his steps. "Dr. Sciuto is a very talented woman."

McGee's stomach sank. He'd forgotten that he'd asked Abby to collaborate on that program. Although, to be fair, he never expected Abby to be working with the FBI, either. "I don't know what to say," he said, his voice barely reaching across the desk.

"I appreciate agents who are creative, who can use technology as a crime-fighting tool. However, there is no way I can justify agents who, for whatever reason, use their skills to pull stunts like this." The director snagged McGee's gaze and refused to release it. "I cannot imagine anything short of torture as being a good enough reason to do this.

"However, given Agent David's predilection of issuing threats of torture on a regular basis, I am willing to cut you just a bit of slack." Hoping that Gibbs didn't storm out for making this decision, he continued. "I am also willing to give you one chance to remain employed by NCIS. You will receive the transfer you requested. I will not require Agent DiNozzo to have to work with you. However, you will be monitored. If there is one search that is the least bit off the reservation, the least bit unethical, you will be terminated immediately. You will also never be eligible for a promotion. Your current grade is the highest grade you'll ever achieve.

"If you choose not to accept this, I will allow you to resign, although you'll understand that no one here at NCIS will be able to give you a reference. I would suggest that you look for a position in the private sector."

McGee sat and watched his ambitions for this office drain away. He could stick around long enough to outlast Gibbs, but Vance was young enough that he could stay in this position for years to come. The private sector didn't have quite the same prestige but he could still aim to climb the ladder.

"If it's all the same to you, sir, I'd like to work out my leave and then resign," McGee said.

That wasn't quite what the director had in mind, but he could grant that concession. "As you will not be going into the field with Agent DiNozzo, I believe that can be arranged." Vance cocked a brow at him. "You do realize that Agent Gibbs is aware of your activities, don't you?"

"I figured. I know it won't be an easy two weeks, but I'd rather not leave without giving official notice. Looks better on the resume."

"I appreciate that. Since I can imagine what's coming, I think you'll earn it."

NCIS~GOOMH

Abby was getting frustrated. Nothing was going right for her. She'd seen Tony several times, and she'd been able to offer a few apologies, but there was always someone else around, someone coming or going. They'd had no time to talk privately since he'd been released from the hospital. As much as she loved Gibbs and Ducky, she was getting irritated by one or the other of them hovering over Tony.

As she headed home, she wondered when her world would return to normal. Tony had been very pleasant to her, very receptive to her apologies, but without the opportunity to talk privately, she still had this feeling that he was holding something against her. She'd noticed him looking at her differently, not the way that he used to. She teared up considering the possibility that she'd done too much damage to repair their relationship.

Parking in front of her apartment building, she noticed the car sitting in the visitor's spot but didn't really pay much attention to it. One of the guys who lived above her was a serial dater, and he probably had company. She snorted to herself. He was pretty much the only one who had company that stayed this late during the work week.

The first inkling that something was wrong was when she unlocked her door. The deadbolt had not been locked, although her other lock had been. Abby froze. She knew that she always locked both locks. The only people who had keys were Gibbs, Tony, and Timmy. Ziva didn't need a key, she just picked the locks to any door she wanted. Until that point, it hadn't been an issue.

Pulling out her pepper spray, the personal blend that she'd tweaked in the lab, along with readying her cell phone for a call to 911 or Gibbs, she prepared herself for intruders and slowly opened the door. She was not prepared for who sat on her sofa.

"Abby! You look wonderful!"

Intense shock froze her in place.

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Yeah," she said, letting her hand fall to her side numbly. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. smiled widely and gestured with a tumbler of her good scotch to join him on the sofa. "You work too hard, my dear. Come on, sit down. Let's get reacquainted."

She tucked her phone back into her pocket. "How did you get in here?" she asked, never moving.

"A friend of yours let me in. Now, take a load off. Let's have a quiet evening." He smiled engagingly. "We have so much to catch up on."

The charm that she had once soaked up like a sponge turned her stomach in its saccharinity. "How did you get out of jail?"

Senior waved that away as if it were an annoying gnat. "That's lawyer stuff. Misunderstandings. I have no doubt that it will all be cleared up soon. Now, Abby, let's talk about you and me."

"You and me?" she snorted. "There is no you and me. There's you. There's me. Two totally different sides of the spectrum." Abby glared at him. "I saw what you did. Therefore, there can never be a you and me. I might make mistakes, but I saw what I saw, mister."

His eyes narrowed. "My dear, there's so much that you don't know about me. About what I can do." The charming tone thinned and allowed an edge of steel to influence his words. "About everything. You are an intelligent woman. You know what can happen in a field like yours. How many accidents can happen. It's a dangerous world, Abby."

She cocked her head. "And I'm sure you can spew a bunch more threats so that I won't testify against you. You know what? You, mister, are nothing but a coward. Make big threats, pay other people to clean up your messes, bully your own flesh and blood to make him take care of you. You know what happened when I tackled you off of Tony? You fainted. You fainted like the little pussy you really are."

A growl erupted from Senior, and Abby's tumbler smashed against the floor in an explosion of glass and liquor.

"Wasting good scotch," she said, shaking her head. "That was a gift."

"What is it with you people?" he snarled. "Stubborn bitch! Just have to do things the hard way!"

"No, the legal way. The right way." She glared at him. "The way it should be. Get out of my house. Right now."

When he stood and braced as if preparing to make a move toward her, she raised her pepper spray. "I could call for the cops, but I'm not as trusting as your son. I won't give you the chance to slug me. I will shoot first and call later. But let me warn you. This might not be a lethal gunshot, mister, but I promise you, if you take this in the face, you will wish I did have a gun to put you out of your misery."

Senior stared her down, weighing her bluff. "You stupid girl. You stupid little girl. I will make your petty life so miserable you'll come crawling back to me, begging me to fix you. You say one word against me, and I'll destroy your precious career. You'll never work again. There is nothing my son can offer you that is worth crossing me."

"Oh, yes there is. Tony might have come from your DNA, but he is more of a man that you can ever hope to be. Conning stupid women out of money so you can jet around and cheat with more stupid women isn't being a man. It's being a spoiled brat of a child. I should know. I can be the biggest brat in the world." She motioned toward the door with the spray. "But Tony is a real man. A true friend. And the kind of person I want in my life. Now, get out!"

He looked like the old man he was when he finally stepped toward the door. Her finger twitched, and she fought against the desire to blast him in the face just for spite, but that would be dropping to his level. Tony wouldn't do that. Having truly seen and understood the differences between father and son, Abby could never turn away from her friend. Even when she was making his life miserable, he still protected her.

When Senior finally stepped out, she ran and slammed the door shut, bolting all the locks, using her sleeve to try to preserve any fingerprints. She then pulled down the iron door bar that Gibbs had installed for her after one of her stalker boyfriends had kicked in her door.

Collapsing onto the floor, she pulled her phone out. It was still recording. She breathed a sigh of relief and saved it. When she was sure it was there, she dialed.

" _Gibbs."_

She sniffled. "Can you come to my place? And bring your kit?"

" _Abby? What's wrong?"_

There was panic in his voice. "I'm not hurt. Tony's dad was in my apartment. I got rid of him, but I think Ziva might have picked my locks to let him in."

" _Ziva? Why do you think that?"_

"Because he said a friend of mine let him in, and the only ones who have keys are you, Timmy, and Tony, and I can't imagine you guys doing that."

She heard a growl come through the phone. _"Bar the door, don't let anyone in. I'll call Fornell and we'll be there soon."_

"Done."

Nervous energy drove her through the apartment, looking things over, searching to see if anything was touched, moved, or bothered. There didn't appear to be anything out of place, at least on the surface, but Abby didn't want to risk touching anything and destroying evidence.

When she stepped into her bedroom, she stared at her bed. There wasn't a thing out of place, but she felt violated somehow. Shuddering, she left.

When Gibbs knocked on the door, she carefully opened it and let the two men in. She dove into Gibbs's arms, and let him sooth away the shaking that persisted.

"Abby, what happened?" Fornell asked as he led her away, letting Gibbs begin dusting for prints.

She drew in a trembling breath. "When I got home from work, I noticed that the deadbolt wasn't locked. I am very, very careful to lock my door whenever I leave."

"Okay."

"I thought that maybe there could be someone inside, so I got out my phone and my pepper spray." Pulling the canister from her pocket, she offered it for examination. "My own recipe. Maybe not technically street legal, but nothing in it is illegal, either."

Fornell wisely did not comment.

"Anyway, I step inside and he's sitting on my couch, drinking the scotch that Ducky gave to me for Christmas a couple years ago. I put my phone away, but I started recording when I did. Here's the file."

She brought up the video, and although the screen was obviously dark, the mic had done its job. Both voices were clearly audible, even through the muffling of fabric. Both men listened to the conversation.

"I'll need a copy of that," Fornell said, clearing his throat. "I doubt that we can actually use that in court, but I think I know where I can put it to great use."

"Really? I thought that me taping him without his knowledge would balance out him being in my apartment illegally."

A pained look crossed Tobias's face. "The law doesn't work like that."

"Maybe it should."

He sighed. They went over the recording again, with him asking questions and clarifying where Abby and Senior had been, going over details, and taking notes. Gibbs finished dusting the door and the obvious spots for prints and proceeded to taking pictures of the broken glass, the disturbed scotch decanter, and a few other things that Abby pointed out could have been moved.

Fornell gathered his notes and took her phone into evidence, leaving Gibbs behind.

"Are you okay to stay here?"

She looked around and shuddered. "No. I'll get a hotel room tonight. Maybe it'll be okay tomorrow, but tonight? Just can't do it. I'll grab a change of clothes and follow you out."

"You can stay at my house instead," Gibbs said.

Her face lit up and she opened her mouth to say yes, but stopped. "As much as I appreciate the offer," she said slowly, "I think that this time, maybe I should just handle this myself. I'll be fine for a night."

He frowned. "Abs, there's nothing wrong with accepting a helping hand."

"Yeah, but I always accept it. I kind of expect it from you, from Tony. And maybe I shouldn't." She offered a small, if feeble, smile. "Maybe I can try taking care of myself this time."

"What brought this on?"

"Something I said to Senior. I am a spoiled brat. Maybe not on the level he is, but still. I've always considered myself an independent woman. But anytime I get in trouble, I run to you, I run to Tony, I run to the nuns – Gibbs, I'm a runner. I'm not a grownup. I'm a kid in an adult body. And seeing what a lifetime of running to someone else to clean up my messes will do to you is not pretty. It's not something I want to do. So, tonight, I'm gonna clean up my own mess."

"It's not quite the same thing. Your home was violated. I understand the need to get away. Which is why I'm making the offer."

She threw herself into hugging him. "And I love you for it. If I can't handle it, I'll be at your door. I promise."

Holding her in his arms, Gibbs realized that this was another mistake he'd made. Thinking back to the Abigail Sciuto who'd swept into the NCIS crime lab years earlier and comparing her to the woman standing here, he saw the difference and regretted his part in it. His indulgence of her petty behaviors, which had been mild and somewhat endearing at the outset, had encouraged her to regress. Once she'd pointed it out, he missed the old Abby.

"All right. Get your stuff. I'll follow you and make sure you get checked in." Kissing the top of her head, he let her go and smiled at her. "I understand your reasoning. Maybe I'll start backing off and letting you take care of more stuff yourself."

Abby stamped her foot, hands on hips. "That better not include shutting off my CafPows, mister!"

Gibbs's eyes shot wide open.

She smiled. "Just kidding. I've already started cutting down." With that, she dashed into her room.

Sighing, he shook his head. He couldn't wait for life to get back to normal.

 _AN: I have struggled over this for a while. I realize that Abby, and Gibbs, for that matter, have been a little OOC. However, I believe that people can grow up when faced with no other choice. Abby, especially, takes things to extremes. I feel that if she is pushed to see the faults in her own behavior, she would go overboard going the other direction to fix it. However, this is all just all me, how I wish the writers could have cleaned up the messes they made of all the characters._


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Please remember that I am not a doctor or neurologist and this situation with Tony's memory is of my own creation. I've never heard of this condition, and I did look. I wanted something other than the cliche of amnesia. I understand how amnesia works, unlike what normally happens on TV, and that wasn't what I wanted to do with Tony._

 _Thanks for sticking with me. Four more chapters to go._

The next day, Vance held a meeting in his office. Four of them sat around one end of his conference table, Gibbs, Ducky, Fornell, and Vance himself.

"All right. As you know, Agent DiNozzo has been cleared to return to work tomorrow," Vance began. "He will be on desk duty until he has cleared all his physical and psychological requirements. Dr. Mallard, will you begin?"

"Obviously, doctor-patient privilege limits what I can share, but Anthony has given permission for me to divulge information that is germane to this situation. As everyone here knows, the concussion he suffered has had an adverse effect on his memory. This is not amnesia, and his MRI results confirm that there is no permanent damage that is normally associated with amnesia.

"Instead, his memories are more or less intact. However, they are fragmented. I have consulted with Dr. Ailerhaligan, Anthony's counselor and a noted psychologist who has spent much of her career working with aberrations of memory. She has stated that while his situation is not unique, it is quite rare.

"Anthony has quite imaginatively described his struggles as 'watching a DVD on super fast-forward and only getting images of scenes without context.' Dr. Ailerhaligan theorizes that this phenomenon is caused not by actual damage to brain tissue but is more of a psychological reaction."

Vance frowned. "Psychological reaction? How will this affect him?"

"DiNozzo's not crazy, Duck," Gibbs said with a shake of his head.

"Gentlemen, every single one of us has our own psychological issues. There are rarely destructive. They are simply our own methods of coping with life stresses," Ducky said. "Dr. Ailerhaligan has posited that while the concussion itself did damage the brain, as all concussions do, the primary explanation for Anthony's current inability to connect his memories in proper order could well be his own psyche having short-circuited, for lack of a better description."

"Come again?"

Dr. Mallard met each gaze, one by one. "While the concussion shook his brain hard enough to disrupt the synaptic activity that normally processes memory recall, that wasn't permanent damage. It is Anthony's own personal memory processing that is being rebuilt, at this point. There is nothing wrong with his memory. All the information, all the experience, it's all still there, waiting to be accessed. It is his conscious retrieval mechanisms that he is struggling to rebuild, with Dr. Ailerhaligan's assistance.

"There is also another aspect of this that has come to my attention," Ducky continued. "Traumatic brain injuries can also trigger personality changes."

"Are you suggesting that Agent DiNozzo's personality has altered?" Vance asked.

"Not greatly, but yes, I am. I have noticed that since the assault, reactions to situations that we are accustomed to seeing from Anthony have changed. This is nothing like a Jekyll and Hyde situation, by any means. It is more of a, well, a slight shift. Jethro has noticed it, although he has tried to ignore it."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, missing the shared look between Fornell and Vance. "Continue, Dr. Mallard."

"Jethro, have you ever confronted Anthony about dealing with father?"

"Yeah, a couple times."

"And what was his response?"

Grimacing, he said, "DiNozzo always dodged the question, made excuses, or talked himself in circles to avoid having to confront the situation."

"And what was his response about pressing charges against his father?"

Gibbs sighed. "He asked me if I was going to talk him out of it, which was not what I meant at all."

Ducky nodded. "That is one example. There have been numerous small decisions that Anthony has made during his recuperation that lead me to believe that while he is still the Anthony that we know and love, he has … strayed from the path he had chosen, a path of deflection and hiding behind jokes."

Vance allowed his surprise to show. "A more mature and focused DiNozzo? That could be a good thing."

"That's it," Tobias said, slapping the table with both hands. "I'm definitely headhunting him now!"

As expected, his words broke the tension, drawing laughs from Ducky and Leon and a growl from Gibbs.

"If I may return to the matter most pressing to this meeting, as Anthony's personal physician, I have no reservations about allowing him to return to work. In fact, I believe that getting him back into a familiar, regimented routine will aid in restoring his memory problems more than sitting at home being bored. As you are aware, a bored Anthony can be … an issue."

Leon sighed. "As much as I couldn't imagine saying this a month ago, I'm looking forward to getting Agent DiNozzo back here." Casting a somewhat comical glare at Fornell, he continued. "Where he belongs."

"We'll see, we'll see."

"Next. When can we get rid of Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

Ziva and McGee had returned to the bullpen, having served out their suspensions. However, at this point, only Gibbs and Vance knew that McGee was also serving out his notice.

"I told you, I can't just toss her out, as much as I would derive immense personal pleasure from removing her myself," Vance said, his voice not much more pleasant than Gibbs's had been.

"Why is she still here?" Tobias asked.

"Because there is no evidence that she has a reason to be terminated. Until I have hard proof, I can't just fire her without opening NCIS up to the kind of lawsuit that she could bring with that bottom-feeder public defender Senior has hooked up with."

"Paying Senior's bail?"

"Not illegal. Sleazy, unethical, and seriously disrespectful of her superior officer, but not illegal," Vance countered.

"Helping him break and enter into Abby's apartment?"

"None of the fingerprints there could be tied to her definitively. Besides, the one that was a possible match was inside the apartment, and by Sciuto's own admission, Ziva has legitimately been a guest in the past."

"What about providing case information in a joint operation to a civilian?"

Vance shook his head. "Even though ICE, NCIS, and Homeland have done their best to keep that fiasco quiet, only parts of it are technically classified. Gentlemen, believe me, I have tried to get rid of her. Sleeping with Senior," and the director shuddered at that thought, "while TMI, is _not_ grounds for dismissal."

"TMI?"

The two fathers of teenagers exchanged a brief smile, amused to share an understanding that went right over Gibbs's head. "I could reprimand her for not refraining from a personal relationship with the target of an active federal case, but that isn't enough to fire her."

"Director, how much damage could be done to the case by the release of the details about Rivkin?" Ducky asked.

"Fortunately, not much." Leon sighed. "When I discovered what she wanted to do, I threw that one over to Tom Morrow at Homeland. He'd already classified Rivkin as a hostile entity having performed terroristic activities, so it didn't take much to bump him up to actual terrorist. Also, to fulfill the letter of the law, he was tied with Ziva herself to keep most of the information away from Freedom of Information Act requests. Between all that wrangling, Avery only got basically the names of those involved, but no details."

"But what if he calls her to the stand to testify?" Ducky persisted.

"There we will have her," Vance said. "Her confidentiality clause in her contract will not allow her to reveal details about the case, since she is directly involved in that case and parts of it are still technically open. Also, this case does not have any direct bearing on the FBI case." He nodded to Fornell. "I've already talked to JAG to confirm that, but I'll give you the information."

"So, I've got to see her there, staring at Tony's desk, smirking and glaring?" Gibbs asked.

"For the time being, yes."

He grunted in disgust.

"Now, to continue on about the case. We can use McGee's testimony about Ziva gaining access to the FBI file illegally, but since she did nothing but look at it, or more technically, we have no evidence that she did anything else, we can't charge her with anything.

"Also, we have the recording from Senior's attempt at witness tampering. Unfortunately, although he threw out lots of veiled threats, Abby didn't really get him to come out and admit that he wanted her to change her testimony. However, I think we can use it as a tool to hamstring Avery's attempts to discredit Abby."

There were hastily hidden smiles as Gibbs growled under his breath about rules and lawyers.

"Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?"

When a general round of negatives sounded, Vance dismissed the meeting. Gibbs lingered and slouched in the chair across from Vance's desk.

"Can't we at least transfer her?"

"Would you really rather have her out of sight, where we can't keep an eye on what she's doing?"

Gibbs growled again. "But you expect me to take her out into the field? How can I trust her not to stick a knife in my back? Or McGee's, for that matter. Not that I'd mind that, actually."

"You'd pitch a fit about the paperwork if she did anything to McGee on your watch," the director said. "Besides, you only have a few more days until McGee's notice is completed and you won't have to work with him, either."

Given his skills, it wasn't particularly surprising that McGee had already gotten a job with a tech firm a few hours away in Philadelphia. Gibbs didn't think that was far enough away, but had to admit that the likelihood of randomly running into the man was pretty slim. "So, what, we're just gonna sit out of rotation until DiNozzo's back in the field?"

"I've been able to juggle rotation pretty well so far," Vance said. "Once McGee leaves, I plan to pull in a couple TADs for you and DiNozzo to work with, providing he's up to it. I'll leave it up to you to keep Ziva out of the equation as much as possible."

"Yeah, all she'll be able to train them in is intimidation techniques and lockpicking." Gibbs shook his head. "Damn Jenny and her ambitions."

"Yes, Shepard dug us a huge hole," Vance agreed. "But now is what we have to deal with. Honestly, Gibbs, I'd send her to work with one of our terrorism teams if I thought I could trust her. Get her out of the office. But there's no one within a thousand square miles and all the alphabets that hasn't heard about the crap she's pulling."

"Fine. I'll just have to keep a close eye on her when DiNozzo's back."

"We all will."

NCIS~GOOMH

Tony walked back into the bullpen. He'd been gone for more than two weeks, and it felt like everything had changed and yet nothing had changed. His desk was just as he'd left it. His teammates were just where they had been. Yet he felt like what had changed the most was him.

He saw Ziva's hateful expression as he took his seat. It was weird, but a few weeks ago, her glare would've irked him. It was surprisingly easy to ignore. McGee was doing his best to simply exist.

Gibbs had come over to his apartment the night before and updated him about the conference. Tony was well aware of what Ziva had been up to, having listened to the recordings. If she wanted to sleep with Senior, it was her ass on the line. It had been a long time since his father's love-life had meant anything to him.

As to his memory, or his memory retrieval, it was improving. Tony had eagerly agreed with Ducky that getting back in the swing of things at work could only help. The only twinge he suffered was the irritation of having to stare at Ziva all day. Still, he could adjust his monitors to block her. It seemed an easy enough solution.

Before he rearranged, however, he got to appreciate the fury building on her face as he had a parade of other agents who stopped by his desk to wish him well and tell how glad they were that he was back. Tony gladly accepted all the well-wishes, smiling and laughing with them, encouraged with how few lapses he had.

It took nearly an hour before the flow thinned out, and just as Ziva was winding up to approach him, Director Vance called him up to his office. He met her scowl with a smirk and walked silently past her.

"I see that you've had quite the flood of visitors," Vance said with a smile.

"Yes, sir," Tony said, taken slightly aback. His memories didn't produce an amiable director.

Vance must have read his expression. "Agent DiNozzo, before we begin, I wish to offer you an apology."

"Sir?"

"I realize that you probably recall our interactions as stiff, or unpleasant. I will admit that even though I appreciate the results your skills produce, I was not particularly fond of you personally. That is my issue, and one I would like to rectify." The director leaned forward, and Tony met his regard evenly. "I can't consider us friends, but having worked your case for the last few weeks, I can see that I have underestimated you, written you off to some extent. I was wondering if you could extend me the courtesy of beginning a new working relationship, starting off with a clean slate, so to speak."

Surprised, Tony found that he had no reason to refuse. "I think that is an excellent idea," he said with a small smile.

Vance grinned. "All right, Agent DiNozzo, I appreciate your efforts. I will extend you the same courtesy. Now, Dr. Mallard discussed certain aspects of your memory issues in the briefing. I would like your assessment before I throw you back into the flood of bureaucratic paperwork."

"I am confident that my memories are all there, sir," Tony said. "Often, an image or sound or scent will trigger kind of a cascade of memories, and I'll put a particular event back together. Kind of like dominoes falling. Other times, a trigger will just tease me, not quite connecting to anything.

"I will admit, I am thrilled with how many memories came together during this morning's meet and greet," he said, another muted grin punctuating his statement.

"Excellent," Vance said. "That is really good news. I was also made aware of what Ducky called a personality shift."

Tony grimaced at that. "I don't think it's like that, per se. It just feels like there are other options open to me now."

A flicker of surprise crossed the director's face. "Can you explain that?"

"I'll try." Tony hesitated as he sought the words. "I can remember bits of conversations I've had before. About a certain subject. And I remember my responses. It's not like I lied. I don't like lying, unless I'm undercover. And even then, I stay as simple and as close to the truth as possible, since it's too easy to get tripped up. But back to the responses. I guess I feel like, well, like I don't have a responsibility to protect others' feelings so much anymore. I said a lot of things to keep secrets, or to let someone hear what they wanted to hear. Now, I feel stripped clean, in some ways. Like those old memory retrieval processes I had made me feel like I had to make everyone like me. Not everyone will like me. And I guess, now, it doesn't matter that everyone doesn't like me." He frowned slightly. "Does that make sense?"

"I think so. Do you feel like this will affect your working relations?"

"Possibly, but I don't think it'll be in a harmful way." Tony hesitated. "May I speak frankly, sir?"

"Yes, please."

"I don't recall Agents McGee and David respecting me. While all the incidents are not solidified in my head, I do recall bits of what I would classify as insubordination. Questioning orders, snarky comments, small issues. And when I would try to address them, they … Well, honestly, I don't recall any change."

Vance's eyes widened slightly. As much as he despised Senior's cowardly attack on his son, this much more mature version of Agent DiNozzo was an unexpected blessing. "You are correct in that assessment. I have noticed the behavior in the past and to my shame, I refused to interfere. I should have. I did not realize that you had tried to correct their behavior and they had ignored you. You have my apologies on that matter."

"I have a file." The words blurted out of Tony's mouth. "Sorry, sir. I just remembered. I think I have a file where I kept notes. Or paperwork." He frowned in concentration. "I thought it had to do with them."

"Would you please go see if you can find it?"

Tony grimaced. "It might take a while. I don't remember what I filed it under."

The director hid a smile. "After we're done here, go back through and see if you can find it. I understand it might take a while. We can continue our discussion of your teammates later. Other than David and McGee, do you think any other relations will be affected?"

"I may be a bit more blunt," Tony admitted somewhat sheepishly. "I've noticed that things kind of just come out now."

"Out of curiosity, Agent DiNozzo, do you still enjoy movies?"

Tony laughed. "Oh, yes. That was one of the most helpful exercises that Dr. Ailerhaligan suggested. By watching those I was able to assemble a lot of the images that I had but made no sense. I haven't quite worked my way through my entire collection, but now when I have an odd bit show up, I can identify actors or characters. Like James Bond. Or Sean Connery."

The director breathed out a subtle sigh of relief. He could fully embrace this new DiNozzo, but for the sakes of Gibbs and Sciuto, he was glad that their friend had not lost all of what they appreciated about him. "Well, Tony, I'm glad that you're back. Don't push yourself."

"I won't, sir." Tony smiled and stood, accepting Vance's genuine handshake. "Thanks."

NCIS~GOOMH

Ziva seethed, but since she was on display, she tried to seethe subtly. This spontaneous welcoming back party from the rest of the building was a disgusting display. That Tony could be allowed to return to work, with such glee, while he had stooped to such levels of depravity disgusted her. Against his own father, no less. Eli was guilty of using her, she realized, but at least she knew that it was for the greater good, and under no circumstances would she disrespect him enough to doubt his motives, or to even wish ill of his personal choices. Grimacing slightly, she reluctantly added Orli to that list.

Gibbs had been at his desk, not hiding his pleasure that Tony was back at his desk. He spoke to many of the visiting agents after they'd spoken to DiNozzo. Even McGee had nodded to a few of them, although he'd had the decency to limit his greeting to just a couple words.

When the director called Tony to his office, Gibbs left, probably to go get coffee. She took advantage of the absences to approach McGee. "I need your help," she said, leaning on his desk.

Tim looked up at her. "Help with what?"

"I've got to figure out how Tony set this up. Get on your computer."

"No."

Her eyes widened. "What did you say?"

"I said no. As much difficulty as you have with the English language, I am still fairly sure that you can grasp what the word no means."

"Did you just threaten me?" she asked, her voice low and cold.

"No, I insulted you. Big difference." He stared at her, wondering why he had ever let her influence him. "Look, I don't know what your issue is with Tony, and frankly, I don't care. You can screw him, his dad, and the rest of the civilized world if you want, but I'm done. You want to throw away your career, do it without me.

"Honestly, I can't stand DiNozzo, what with his pranks and juvenile antics. However, he gets results, as unbelievable as that is. And frankly, I read the case. I didn't just see who was involved and jump to conclusions. Something that you're _really_ good at, Ziva.

"Now, if you want to continue down this self-destructive path, eating up every lie that Senior throws your way, be my guest. I personally can't understand how you got as high as you did in Mossad with your head up your ass and your fingers in your ears, ignoring anything that doesn't please you. But I read the _facts_ of the case, and I think they're accurate.

"As much as I hate Tony, and I hate him a lot, nothing he has done or would do to me compares to the shitty hand he was dealt. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Even you, Ziva. Now, if you will excuse me, I still have work to do. I suggest you go back to your desk. If you won't go there, then go to hell."

"Grab your gear. Marine reported missing," Gibbs snapped as strode back to his desk. He stopped and stared at them since neither of them had moved. "Now, people!"

"What about Tony?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs leveled a nasty glare at her. "DiNozzo is still on desk duty, as you well know. Now get moving or I'm gonna assume you don't want to work here anymore."

That threat made her jump, and she strapped on her gun and slipped her badge on her belt. McGee hadn't hesitated as long as she had, so he and Gibbs were both waiting for her.

 _AN: Okay, we're in the final stretch here. Everyone will be dealt with, and not quite as suspected. I was pretty surprised myself when I saw how this story was going. I hope you can follow this, as there will be explanations, punishment, satisfaction, surprises, and even a little redemption. That last one shocked me, too, but that's just how it played out. So thanks again for sticking with me, and we should get through this soon._


	10. Chapter 10

As Gibbs drove to the scene, he thought about what he had heard. He'd eavesdropped before, frequently, but that was the first time that he'd heard that kind of hatred. Tony was irritating, Gibbs could easily admit. He irritated the hell out of him sometimes. But no matter how juvenile Tony played, no matter how much he irritated everyone, there was one thing that no one could ever doubt, and that was Tony's devotion to his job.

The fact that the people who had been the closest to DiNozzo for all these years still couldn't, or more accurately, refused to see his dedication absolutely stunned Gibbs. Even Vance had eased up on DiNozzo, having finally had a glimpse into his past and figured out _why_ Tony acted so childish. Tony was never granted a childhood; of course he would try to recreate it when he had the freedom to do so.

Still, when he thought about that spectacular rant that McGee had released, he had to admit, the probie was all grown up. Gibbs didn't think that he'd had it in him to stand up to Ziva like that. Also, it was probably best that McGee was nearly gone, since he'd admitted in a roundabout way that he'd slept with Ziva, or she'd slept with him. Either way violated Rule 12.

The vitriol that both of them had revealed shocked Gibbs, and he had to wonder how much of it was because of the environment of competition. Ducky had called him on it many times over the years, but Gibbs knew that his way was the best way, that he knew what he was doing to get information from his team. Hearing damning evidence at what that competition had produced was a blow to Gibbs.

Maybe it was time for him to step down, he thought. Maybe it was time to get DiNozzo back on his feet and retire, let Tony take over the team. His sabbatical, semi-retirement, retreat to Mexico hadn't been what he wanted or needed, but in the last couple years, he noticed that he had to push himself harder and harder to keep up the pace that he was reputed for. Yeah, Gibbs thought, maybe that's it.

Then he was at the scene, and it was time to do his job, and not dwell on the mistakes of the past. It was time to find the Marine.

NCIS~GOOMH

Fornell waved his ID at the gate, wondering if he should move in to the Navy Yard, at least until this DiNozzo case was over. It seemed like he was here every other day.

"What is it now, Fornell?" Vance asked in greeting as Tobias walked in.

"I think we've got them."

"Them?"

Tobias smiled grimly. "The whole lot of them." He set down the leather portfolio he'd been carrying and pulled out a stack of files. "I just want to plead this case out. I see no reason to drag Tony through the mess of court."

"I can agree with that. Our reputation stands to take a hit if David's shenanigans come to light."

"Well, let's get started then."

The two men went through the files, a culmination of investigations from the FBI, Homeland Security, the IRS, and NCIS. Part of the way through the meeting, Vance called in JAG and legal to consult on this. When the whole case was presented, all involved heaved sighs and relaxed.

"So, what now?" the director asked.

"First, I think we need to walk through this with DiNotso," Fornell said. "Make sure he's agreeable to all this."

"Agreed."

"Then I think we should just go at this, one person at a time." Vance cleared his throat. "Take this down, grab a conference room and DiNozzo. We'll start at the top."

Jeffries, from legal, shook his head. "I don't think the first thing to do is to go through Agent DiNozzo. I think we need to move against Randall Avery first."

"Really?" Vance asked. "Explain."

"Avery's tactics have shown that he's violated legal ethics. The witness tampering alone is enough to get disbarred. If we take him out, Mr. DiNozzo, Sr. will have to have another public defender assigned to him, and having worked in the Public Defender's office, I know that most of the lawyers in there won't stand for the kind of stunts that Avery pulled." Jeffries shook his head again. "I'm surprised that he's lasted there that long, to be honest."

"All right. Proceed."

Ziva watched as the group exited past the bullpen. A smirk tugged at her lips. Maybe they would finally see through this charade of Tony's and arrest him. His father certainly hadn't deserved to spend all that time in jail. And once she'd helped him sort this mess with Tony's jealousy out, Senior had promised to take her on a long vacation.

"Are you planning on finishing that report today, Agent David? I still have other paperwork to finish, and I'm not waiting on you much longer."

She turned to glare at Tony. "You can't order me around." Her eyes drifted back toward the windows, and she let her imagination drift back to sun, sand, and water.

"Agent David!"

"What?"

Tony was staring at her. "If you refuse to give me your finished report, I will write you up for insubordination to a superior officer, and believe me, you will not like the results."

"Superior officer?" she scoffed. "You are in no way superior to me. You are a clown."

"Really?" Tony drawled, standing up for the first time. "Are you willing to back that up to the director?"

She glanced around. Gibbs and McGee were away from their desks, and as long as she kept it quiet, none of the other teams should hear her. "Why bother the director? We both know he can't stand you, and if you make him choose, there's no way he'll choose a loser like you over me."

"Full of yourself, aren't you, Agent David?"

His use of her title and surname raked across nerves. She was used to going by her name, and since he'd gotten back after being in the hospital, he hadn't once called her Ziva. "What's with the titles, Agent DiNozzo?" she asked, twisting his title into a slur. "Can't remember my name?"

Tony crossed his arms and leaned against his desk. "You must really enjoy wasting my time. And yes, I remember your name. Zee-vah."

She blinked, shocked. Tony always backed off when she pushed like this. The fact that he was pushing back left her off-balance. Seeking to regain the upper hand, she taunted, "What's the matter? Jealous that you can't go out in the field? Brains too scrambled to handle simple operations? Or is it the fact that you're too much of a coward to hold a gun now?"

Tony's expression never changed, and aside from a glance around the room, he never moved. "That's your tactic? Schoolyard insults?" He smiled. "My dad always did like them dumb."

Fury shot through her. Leaping to her feet, she charged into his personal space. "You jealous little fool. Can't stand the fact that your father has brought home another woman younger than you? Just like when you attacked him and then blamed him?"

A laugh erupted from Tony, enraging her even more. "Is that what he told you? And you bought it?" He leaned down, getting almost nose to nose with her. "If that was true, which it isn't, that would mean that he tried to bring in a new woman, _after_ he'd slept with you, and you jumped back into his bed just _after_ he'd married again. Now that doesn't say much about you.

"The other flaw in that argument is that the last time I argued with my father over a woman, I was seventeen, and he'd just brought home a twenty-year-old stepmother.

"Now, Agent David, I suggest that you sit your butt back into your chair, bring up your report, finish filling it in, and email it to me before you say or do something you truly regret."

Her fist shot out, and to her astonishment, he caught it easily, twisting her arm down and away harmlessly. "And that's the last straw. Attacking your superior in front of witnesses."

"What witnesses?" she sneered. "There's no one else here…" Her words trailed off as she turned to see Gibbs, McGee, and half a dozen other agents standing silently behind them.

"Ziva! With me!" Gibbs snapped.

"No, Gibbs, I'll handle this one," Tony said quietly. He turned to pull a file out of his drawer. "Agent David, with me please."

Eyes wide with horror, she looked at Gibbs. "You can't possibly – "

"Don't say a word," Gibbs growled. "You did it to yourself."

"Gibbs!"

He turned his back to her, walking to his desk. McGee and the rest of the agents just stared at her in disgust.

Ziva panicked, knowing that without Gibbs's backup, she'd lose her job here. Hatred for DiNozzo and what he'd taken from her overwhelmed her. She leaped for his back, trying to take him down.

Three agents caught her, holding her while she twisted and screamed. Security was called immediately, and with their help, Ziva was cuffed and dragged down to a holding cell.

"Does someone want to tell me what the hell happened?" the director demanded as he watched the bullpen clear.

"Ziva physically attacked DiNozzo. With witnesses. And on camera." Gibbs shook his head. "Would you like to go down with me while I question her?"

Vance processed those words. "Yes, I believe this is something I should be part of." He looked around at all the agents who had yet to disperse. "I'll need statements from each of you. DiNozzo, I'll need a detailed report. McGee, go help Sciuto pull the camera feed and see what it shows."

Gibbs and Vance stepped into the elevator, and this time, it was Vance that hit the emergency stop. "What just happened there?" he asked.

"She tried to pick a fight with Tony. Tony handled her." Gibbs recounted the incident he'd witnessed between them.

The director heard him out, then nodded slowly. "Let's go talk to her."

"My lead."

Vance smirked. "As if you'd let me lead."

They walked into the interrogation room, where Ziva had been cuffed to the chair. "Let me out of here, Gibbs!" she screeched.

"Hell no," Gibbs said as he sat down. "I watched you take a swing at another agent."

She leaned forward, stabbing a glare at Vance. "He goaded me into it."

"No, he did not." Gibbs looked at her expression. "I stood there and listened as he ordered you to go to your desk, sit down, and do the work that is part and parcel with being an NCIS agent. What part of that was goading you to commit assault?"

"You couldn't hear what he said."

Gibbs leaned forward and dropped his voice. "It's my eyes that are going, David, not my hearing."

"What is your issue with Agent DiNozzo?" Vance asked, taking advantage of the moment of silence.

Ziva clamped her mouth shut, glaring at both men.

"I think she's still deluded about DiNozzo killing Rivkin."

She spat on the table.

The director looked at Gibbs, but saw his expression and played along. "Oh, you mean the incident where IA cleared him, since it was clearly self-defense?"

"Yeah. Apparently Mossad agents are invincible and immortal. No other group on earth has the same level of skills as Mossad. They are the perfect warriors."

"Except when they're drunk," Vance said. "And then pick fights with better armed and nearly as well-trained American agents. But then, Rivkin was just doing his job by killing an American agent on American soil after being ordered out of the country multiple times."

Gibbs leaned back and examined his nails. "Still, Eli must not have been too worried about losing one Mossad agent. He had another one lined up, ready to be the next to give her life for his avaricious plans."

The two men kept the dialogue up, ostensibly ignoring Ziva as they had the conversation between themselves. However, they could see that Ziva was ready to blow, and when she did, they'd get what they wanted.

She did explode, spewing profanity in every language she spoke. Gibbs and Vance ceased their taunting and sat in silence, letting her rants continue unabated. No matter what language she spoke, DiNozzo's name featured prominently. When she finally ceased, spent, Gibbs glanced at her. "So much for the famous Mossad self-control. Although you've never been as good at hiding your emotions as DiNozzo."

"He took everything away from me!" she shrieked, falling back in her chair. "He took everything from me."

Vance cocked his head and frowned at her. "Agent David, I have seen no evidence that Agent DiNozzo did anything to you other than try to be a good partner."

"What happened to you?" she asked, staring at Vance. "You used to hate him. You should've gotten rid of him when we went to Israel. You were supposed to give him over to my father to execute him for murdering Michael, but now, you're licking his shoes." The Hebrew word she spat needed little translation.

"Nothing happened to me, other than protecting my agent," Vance said. "It may have taken me a while to see it, but Agent DiNozzo was doing nothing more than trying to save your sorry ass from espionage charges."

"Espionage?" she gasped. "That's bullshit! I did nothing wrong!"

Gibbs scowled at her. "You mean to tell me you can sit there and tell me that nothing you've done that put you in this room was wrong?"

"The only thing I did wrong was to not finish him off when I had the chance."

"What do you mean by that?" Gibbs asked.

Ziva was so far gone that she answered the question without thought. "When I had him down, weapon digging into his chest and his femoral artery. I should've just pulled the trigger then."

The glance the men exchanged promised to investigate that point further with DiNozzo. They pushed, prodded, and although neither of them were psychologists, they could see the pattern emerged.

She couldn't blame her father; he was dead and she'd murdered a man in revenge. She couldn't blame Michael; he was dead and she had lost a man she desperately believed had loved her. She couldn't blame Gibbs, even though when she put him on the spot and made him choose between her and DiNozzo, he'd chosen DiNozzo. She wouldn't blame herself, because she'd never had to take responsibility for her own actions.

DiNozzo had stood up for her, stood up to her, but she couldn't control him; therefore, he was the one who was responsible for all her woes. With a little prompting, she revealed her relationship with his father, the belief that Tony had faked the whole assault just because he was trying to get back at Senior and Ziva for daring to have sex.

It took all the strength the men could muster to not roll their eyes at the fantasy she'd spun for herself. Her delusions were beyond comprehension. They pushed until they couldn't get anything else out of her.

Back in Vance's office, Gibbs took Vance up on his offer of the aged whiskey before sitting and trying to tackle the problem that was Ziva.

"I'm not a specialist, but throwing her in prison is not the answer," Vance said.

"I know. Damn it. How could I not see how screwed up she is? I mean, I know she knows how to play the psy-ops games. Hell, Mossad makes that into an art form. But I didn't think she'd play it on me. On us."

"Eli, for all his smooth political exterior, was one sick bastard." Leon shook his head and sipped, savored the burn, and exhaled slowly. "I knew that no one was safe from his machinations, but I guess I never really stopped and thought about what he was doing to Ziva. She was the apple of his eye, but he used her for his own games without thought, without a conscience. Damn, that's cold."

"I couldn't do it," Gibbs admitted. "I specialize in the 'bastard' image, and I couldn't do that. Not to anyone I've worked with. Even the ones I've run off." Draining his glass, he twisted the empty tumbler in his hand, choosing his next words. "So, we turn her over to the shrinks and stick her in a loony bin?"

Vance grimaced at the crude wording. "I think we keep her in custody for now. We can keep her on the assault charges, keep her from doing more damage while we get her a full, thorough psychological examination." Draining his own glass, he set it down. "On the bright side, she's effectively off your team and out of NCIS."

"Damn it, Leon, this isn't what I wanted!"

"If I had an inkling that it was, you'd be out of here faster than her," Vance said. "I know you only want the best. For a while, Ziva was good enough." He stared at Gibbs with a pensive frown. "I think that there were a few key moments that just broke her. The Rivkin SNAFU. You choosing DiNozzo. Her father leaving her to be tortured. Eli's death. Any of those would've been seriously damaging. To anyone. But all of them together?" He sighed. "A perfect storm of hate with the eye pointing right at DiNozzo."

"I wanna know why the hell Tony didn't say anything about Ziva trying to kill him," Gibbs growled. "And when she did it."

"I think of all that's happened today, that's the least of our worries." Vance grimaced and rose, taking a seat behind his desk. "I'll update Fornell about this new development, unless you want to."

"Nah. I've got a team to rebuild." Glaring at the director, Gibbs sighed. "Might as well give me the first of the TADs."

Vance handed him a stack of files, blissfully ignoring the nasty look Gibbs was shooting him, and picked up his phone.

 _AN: I think this explanation makes more sense for Ziva's irrational behavior over the years. She suffered more than enough crap to have a true mental breakdown, and add to it an underlying instability could explain why she was mooning over Tony in one episode then trying to kill him in another. The character of Ziva has never seemed very consistent, and while I didn't mind her to start, the more I watched her, the more she just creeped me out._


	11. Chapter 11

McGee sat at his desk on his last day, counting down the hours until he could walk out of there forever. He was full of mixed feelings.

NCIS was where he'd grown up as a field agent, where he'd, well, grown up. He enjoyed the computer work, and he certainly wouldn't be hurting for money when he started his new job in a couple weeks. Tech firms like this one could afford to get the best. However, there was a lot of him that was going to miss the adrenaline rush of dodging bullets, the high of catching a killer, the sense of comradery of solving a tough case together.

He glanced over at Tony, who was working with one of the TADs that might be his replacement, although he thought that they'd sell the first one as Ziva's replacement, at least. There was a little bit of irritation that life for DiNozzo would continue without change. No, Tim corrected himself, not without change. Tony _had_ changed.

Ever since the Ziva catastrophe, McGee had noticed what he'd tried to ignore before. Tony had changed, and while McGee waited to determine whether or not it was for the better, he couldn't deny that other people were noticing. Surprisingly, Vance had been the biggest fan of this.

For one, when Tony dealt with Ziva in the past, it was typically with teasing and joking. He gave orders, and unless they were under fire, those orders typically went unnoticed by the junior officers. Now his orders were quiet and authoritative, leaving little wiggle room. McGee squirmed, uncomfortable that seeing this new Tony was making him feel guilty for the insubordination.

And what was the deal with Ziva? Scuttlebutt said she'd gone off the deep end, had been committed or locked up in a psych ward or something. Tim knew that something had been off with her, but that kind of thing was unheard of. The psych evals that they all had to take were supposed to catch those kinds of problems, not let them tote guns in public.

McGee sighed. That was another thing about civilian life. He was accustomed to having a weapon on him at all times. Having to apply for a concealed carry permit and buy his own weapon was a hassle he didn't want to deal with. As the thought struck him, he opened a search page to see if Philadelphia even allowed private concealed carry.

"McGee, with me."

He jumped violently when Gibbs spoke right next to him. Guiltily, he minimized the search window before blushing. First, Gibbs wouldn't know what he was doing, and second, Gibbs wouldn't care. Running a Google search was hardly an illegal activity.

McGee followed to an empty conference room, realizing for the first time that Gibbs was carrying a large folder. He took a seat, trying to remember that the man couldn't do anything to him in a few hours.

"You're a smart man, Tim," Gibbs said, breaking the silence.

McGee was stunned. That was absolutely the last thing he expected to hear. "Um, thank you?"

"It was only partially meant as a compliment. Working out a two week notice gave me time to cool down." Gibbs let the silence build again as he opened the folder. "I guess you can figure out that this is your exit interview."

"I thought HR normally did those," Tim said.

"I asked for this one." While McGee sat in stunned shock at the thought of Gibbs volunteering to do _anything_ HR-related, the team leader flipped page after page in the folder, glancing at each before moving to the next one. "You've had a hell of a career." He shot Tim a look. "That _wasn't_ meant as a compliment."

"What?" McGee stuttered in surprise.

"In case you didn't know, each of these pages is a report detailing orders ignored or questioned, insubordinate comments made about your superior, incidents of illegal hacking, both on the job and off." Gibbs's glare dropped the ambient temperature several degrees. "I'm curious, McGee. Did you really think you could get away with this forever?"

"Tony never reported all that," Tim said.

"No, he didn't. There are quite a few incidents in this file that I doubt DiNozzo ever knew about. These are reports made by other agents, having watched what you and Ziva have done behind my back, behind Tony's. None of them were officially filed. Not sure why. I'll have to ask them myself.

"Tim, I'm gonna ask you straight out, and I want a straight answer. Why do you think that you're so much better than DiNozzo?"

Put on the defensive, Tim blurted his response before he could phrase it tactfully. "Because he's an idiot. He goofs his way through the job. He's got a stupid P.E. degree."

"That's your reason? That's why you threw your career away? Because you never stopped to look?"

"Look at what?"

Gibbs frowned. "Tony isn't an idiot. He may pretend to be, but he is far from stupid. And you are a snob if you think your fancy MIT and Johns Hopkins degrees mean any more than his Ohio State degree. NCIS doesn't distinguish between schools, and Ohio State may not be as snooty as the other two, but it's hardly lacking when it comes to the quality of education.

"You have different skills than him, yes. And your skills are much easier to see results from, to quantify. But his skills in interrogation, witness questioning, his undercover work, and most importantly, being able to see what you and Ziva produce and tie it together … Those skills are crucial to a well-performing team. But you and Ziva never wanted to admit that Tony contributed anything. Tony's contributions were at least as important as yours, maybe more.

"One of my rules is you don't waste good. You wasted a good thing here, Tim. I'm sorry to see it." Gibbs took a drink of his coffee and sighed. "I'm truly sorry to see you go. I thought we had a good team here. I just wish the feeling had been mutual."

McGee wanted to get angry. He wanted to lash out at Tony, at Gibbs. He really wanted to blame Ziva. But in all honesty, he couldn't. Gibbs, in a very quiet, un-Gibbs manner, had pointed out just how self-absorbed he'd been.

"So, that's it?"

"Yeah, that's all I've got. There's not much else to say."

Tim started to leave but hesitated. "Gibbs, I don't understand. Why did you beat down Tony, if he was so important?"

"Because I'm human. Tony can be a genuine pain in the ass. And what I said. I've taken him for granted, too." Gibbs frowned. "Coming this close to losing him, and watching the team eat itself because I've fostered an environment of competition rather than cooperation … I have to say, Tim, I've learned a few things over the last several weeks, too. It's not pretty, seeing that you're wrong, or worse, that you've wronged others. I won't let Tony completely off the hook. He handled you and Ziva wrong. He should've reached out for support, from me or Vance, long before things got this bad.

"No one is blameless in this mess. And what a mess it is." Gibbs stared at Tim. "I'm gonna give you a piece of advice. Ambition is good, Tim. It's a good thing to want to make more of yourself, to not get complacent. But ambition at the cost of your friends is not. I know why you've tried elevating yourself at Tony's expense. You think you're better than him. But when it comes to what's important, you fall short. Tony has heart. He has the heart for this job. He wants to make a difference. _That's_ what makes the difference. Every time.

"Go say your goodbyes, Tim."

McGee stared at the closed door, shuddering at the sudden silence. Taking Gibbs's last order to heart, he left and headed for the lab.

Abby's lab shook with music, but Tim knew that things were not right in Abby world. The music might have been loud, but the slow thump of the blues spoke of her mindset.

"Hey, Abby."

"McGee."

He stood for a moment before reaching over to turn the volume down. "I, um, came down to talk to you."

"So talk."

Frowning, he cleared his throat and tried again. "I don't want this to end on bad terms."

"You're leaving?" she asked, casting an enigmatic glance his way.

"Yeah, I am." He leaned against the counter. "You don't sound particularly surprised about that."

"Yeah, well, after Ziva's meltdown, I figured it was only a matter of time," she said, her voice hoarse.

"And you're just okay with this?"

She whirled and faced him, pointing her finger into his chest. "It's better than undermining your team, Timmy. You and Ziva had me convinced that Tony had screwed up so bad that he couldn't do his job. My friend. My friend for longer than I've known you. The man who saved my life right here in this very room. The friend who goes out to clubs with me so I can drink and not get in trouble. The friend who was still friends with me even though I took his father's side. The friend who is still friends with me after letting his teammates run him down with every word they spoke. Tony was the one who was –"

"I'm so damn sick of hearing Tony's name! Tony, Tony, Tony! Saint Tony! He's a dumb jock who spends his career kissing the ass of an old man who enjoys his God-complex and abusing his subordinates!"

No slap in the face could have shocked Abby Sciuto more. Her pale face faded to dead-white, her dark eyes impossibly huge in her horror. "You take that back, Timothy McGee," she whispered.

"I will not," McGee said. "I'm right and you know it. Now be woman enough to admit it."

"Get out."

"You know I'm right, Abby. You know that Tony's too stupid to make anything of himself than Gibbs's lapdog. And Gibbs is just an abusive old alcoholic who can't figure out that he's a relic, a useless has-been who can't stand to stay at home and face that his family died because he was off playing soldier."

Abby's screech and dive for Timothy was halted by a smaller body thrust in between them. "Abigail!"

"He's wrong, Ducky!" Abby sobbed, still trying to rake her nails down McGee's exposed face. "Tell him he's wrong."

"Abigail, back off!"

The elderly man was surprisingly tough as he forced the two apart. He shouted Abby down, sending her into her office with a promise he would be back later. Once she was gone, Dr. Mallard took McGee by the arm and led him from the lab.

They were safely ensconced in Ducky's office before the old man spoke. "So, Timothy, you decided to poke the bear on the way out."

McGee tried to find the words to justify what he'd said, but he couldn't. He was already regretting that he let Abby push him into blowing up.

"No answer? Sometimes, my boy, discretion is the better part of valor."

"So why are you and Abby not surprised that I'm leaving?" he asked.

Ducky smiled sadly. "What we don't hear, sometimes we can see. You worked out your notice, right? You've already tuned out of your job."

"I never shirked anything."

"I didn't say you did. However, you've made it very plain in your attitude that you were no longer part of the team."

Tim sulked. "I've heard enough today about not being part of the team, thank you."

He ignored the younger man's petulant sentiment. "I'm sure I could repeat all the comments that you've had thrown your way," Ducky said, pulling out a bottle of his scotch and poured them each a drink. "I don't think you need to hear that, though. So tell me about your new job."

Surprised by the question and apparent interest, McGee talked about the tech company and his part in programming for their defense contracts. His experience with the military and with the criminal investigations part would play into de-bugging some of the more delicate parts of the navigation systems, to protect them from hacking and from virus and malware attacks.

Then he let the conversation drift to his relief at leaving NCIS, and his regrets. He spoke of the people he'd miss, a few he wouldn't, and that he'd miss the thrill of solving a case.

Ducky let the young man talk. McGee wasn't as good as Tony at deflecting and hiding his true feelings, which was a good thing for everyone involved. He easily saw that Timothy was open about his feelings and working himself into a more receptive mood.

When they finally ran out of things to discuss, Ducky reached over and patted his hand. "Timothy, I want you to know that my door is always open for you. My online door, as well. Unlike Jethro, I have no problems answering the occasional email."

Tim smiled and nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, Ducky."

"I daresay that your presence will be felt here for years to come." He sighed. "And I do wish that you could've held your temper with Abigail. Had you simply said goodbye and left it at that, without the unfortunate comments, she would've eventually come around to missing you. And would probably have been willing to forgive and forget."

"I know," Tim said, echoing his sigh. "It's just all I've heard for the last several weeks is poor Tony, how we've done Tony wrong, how Tony's better than everyone…"

"I will admit that Anthony has gotten the short end of the stick many times in his life. His most current situation with his father is simply the most public of these incidents. However, it is the reaction to these struggles that is what counts. Timothy, you channeled your frustrations into undermining your superiors. Yes, I include Jethro in that. When he throws something at you that you struggle with, or you chafe at his backward strategies, you take that frustration out on Tony. You can't strike directly at Jethro, but Anthony takes it. Or has taken it, in the past. One of the things that I love most about Anthony is how protective he is of his junior agents."

"Protective?" McGee exploded. "The teasing, the pranks? The incessant irritation of him acting more like a teenager than a federal agent?"

Ducky's expression was pitying. "Timothy, have you still not seen what that is for? When Jethro is in one of his moods, Anthony draws his ire, shielding you and Ziva, and Kate, and Vivian, from being the focus of his wrath. Jethro ran off many more TADs and probies than you can imagine before Anthony showed up. He has allowed Jethro to assault him with those head slaps, to shout at him, to run him down, all so he could give you and the others a chance to learn your jobs and develop enough confidence to handle it when Jethro takes you to task.

"Think about it. How many times did you see Jethro come through the bullpen in one of his tearing moods, and the first thing Anthony did was to make a childish comment? Or to stand up and throw out a piece of evidence, or a lead, to distract him? Anthony liked you all enough to protect you and give you a chance."

Timothy McGee sat, stunned. Never once had he seen Tony's behavior as a blessing, but with Ducky's help, he realized how right he was. "But why do the directors let Gibbs get away with that behavior?"

"Sometimes, you need to deal with the devil. For all of Jethro's faults, he is loyal, he is protective, in his own way, and he gets results."

The guilt of what he'd done swept through him. He had punished Tony for being kind enough to give him a fighting chance. "I think I need to make some apologies," he said quietly. "I won't leave this like it is."

"Good boy," Ducky said brightly. "So let's go start with Abigail."

McGee's eyes widened. "Do we have to?" he asked, wincing at the whine in his voice.

"Yes, dear boy. The longer you let her stew, the harder it will be to talk to her."

Grumbling all the way back to the lab, Tim braced himself for the emotional mess that would be Abigail Sciuto. When they opened the door, he could hear her sobbing. Oh, this was so much worse. An angry Abby could be talked around eventually. A crying Abby was nothing he wanted to touch.

Ducky was kind enough to set the stage and calm her. Tim couldn't hear what they were saying, but he didn't think he needed to. His character had been flayed enough recently.

"Abby?"

The tearful glare cut through him. "Ducky says I have to listen to you. So speak so you can leave."

He cleared his throat. "Look, Abby, I willingly apologize for what I said earlier. I, um, I had a long talk with Ducky, and he explained a lot of things. A lot of things I should've seen for myself, but I didn't. That's on me, okay? The thing is …" Tim sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "The thing is, I really don't want to leave with bad stuff between us. Especially stuff I shouldn't have said."

"You're damn right you shouldn't have said it," she snapped. "So, do you really expect me to just forgive and forget?"

"Forgive? Yeah, I want you to. I'm asking for you to forgive me for having serious foot-in-mouth syndrome," Tim said, hoping to tease a smile out of her. "The forgetting part? That's harder. I know that. I'll settle for the forgiveness."

Abby stared at him for a long time. "I loved you, Timmy. Invited you in as my friend, and I've never, ever, _ever_ done that with another ex. And you hurt me. And you hurt Tony." She left him standing in silence for the longest moment of his life. "I can't forgive at this minute. But I will try." Blinking tearfully, she gave him the smallest of hugs. "I will try."

"I'll take it," he said gratefully. "I'll keep in touch by email, okay? Until we get back to being better?"

"You better," she said fiercely. "Now go, get out of here. I've got three tests to finish."

"Bye, Abby."

She sniffled. "Bye, Timmy."

McGee glanced around and realized that Ducky had made himself scarce while they were talking. He smiled at the old doctor's wisdom and discretion. Inhaling to brace himself for the next meeting, he got in the elevator and headed back up.

Hesitating about who to go to first, McGee made his decision and moved on it. Better to start at the top. He went to the director's office and requested a few moments of Vance's time.

Vance was surprised when McGee walked in. The younger man stood in front of the desk. "What did you wish to see me about, Agent McGee?"

"I want to apologize to you, and to NCIS in general," McGee began. "I have not given this agency all I could have."

"And why is that?" the director asked, genuinely curious.

Tim flushed and fidgeted. "Because I was too ambitious, and too cocky, to use my training to its fullest, and to learn from those I thought beneath me."

"Ah. You're speaking of Agent DiNozzo." Vance leaned back in his chair. "I must admit, Agent McGee, that you and I were in the same boat. There was little about Agent DiNozzo that impressed me when I took this position. But there's much more to him than he lets people see."

"I've had that pointed out to me recently. Painfully, in a few cases," McGee said ruefully. "And I've had those same people point out how firmly I had my own head up my ass."

The director let a ghost of a smile appear at those words. "I had to remedy that situation, too. And to be fair, I've allowed a few of my decisions, while in that state of mind, to interfere with the dynamics of your team. Tell me truthfully, Tim, did DiNozzo ever take you or Ziva to task for being insubordinate or ignoring orders?"

Tim immediately opened his mouth to deny it, but realized he had no reason to cover his actions. "Several times," he admitted guiltily.

"And yet you ignored his reprimands?"

"It was just –" He paused. "No, that kind of thinking got me here. We ignored the reprimands because we thought we could. Nothing had ever come of them before, therefore we thought we were justified."

Vance grimaced. "Let me tell you something. I saw the insubordination, and I thought DiNozzo was allowing it. It's only been since his return to work that I learned that he did what he is entitled to do, _required_ to do, as your superior agent, and try to correct your behavior.

"I will not excuse myself. I failed Agent DiNozzo as director. Even if I thought he was allowing it, I should have stepped in and gotten the whole story. DiNozzo was absolutely right to try to curb your destructive behavior. And I should have backed him in his corrections.

"I won't hazard a guess as to why Gibbs allowed you two to run roughshod over his senior agent. I know there have extenuating circumstances for much of this, but heading into the future, I cannot allow behavior like this to continue." Vance sighed. "It's rather humiliating to feel so condescending of an agent below you act like such a jackass but point out that your own behavior is so much worse. DiNozzo, for all his antics, has pointed out how slack I've been about doing my own job. And even worse, he did it without saying a word."

Tim echoed his sigh. "I know. Ducky pointed out why Tony acts like that. I felt about this big," and held his fingers up, indicating a half-inch space between his thumb and index.

The director looked interested. "What did Dr. Mallard tell you?"

"That Tony acts, or acted, like that to distract Gibbs. To give us a chance to learn our jobs so that we could stand up to Gibbs on our own."

"Interesting observation," Vance said slowly. "And what do you think about that?"

"I think he's right." Tim shrugged. "It just got so easy to ignore the fact that his stupid pop trivia solved cases. Or he that annoyed a perp enough to get him to confess. Or that he flirted with a pretty woman and got information that was the next important lead." The younger man snorted. "He always said, 'Work smarter, not harder.' Thought he was just putting us off so he could sneak in a few games of Tetris on his phone."

"And do you still think that?"

"Not really," he said slowly. "Since he came back, Tony's different. He doesn't joke as much, he doesn't take crap from us, at all now. And that thing with Ziva? He saw us walk up. He kept Ziva's attention, then told her flat out to do her job. He never backed down. And the way he caught her hand? I think if she'd gotten to him, he could have taken her down physically and never looked back."

Vance was curious. "Answer a hypothetical question then, if you will. If you were hired on today, to work with Agent DiNozzo, but with the knowledge and experience you have now, how would your working relationship be today?"

McGee's eyes widened as he considered the question. "Seeing the new Tony, I don't think that I'd pull half the crap that I used to. It was always so distracting when he would play, or sing, or talk while I was trying to work on reports. He didn't do that when we were balls-deep in a case, though." Tim hesitated as he thought it through. "I think it would be a whole lot easier to take him seriously as an authority figure, though."

"Hmm," the director said. "Thank you for that answer. I think it's a shame that Tony had to fracture his skull before you would take him seriously, though."

"He fractured his skull?" Tim's eyes widened. How had he missed that in the case file? "I just heard about the scrambled memories."

"With such a history of head injuries and concussions, I'm surprised that Agent DiNozzo is able to walk, let alone perform his job." Vance narrowed his eyes. "Nothing that is said here can ever be repeated. You are still under my authority and your confidentiality contract until you walk out of this building." When he received McGee's nod, he continued. "Severe head injuries can cause not only issues with memory, but can also cause personality changes. There have been several documented cases, including one of a serial killer in Florida who started killing prostitutes after suffering a traumatic head injury. While Agent DiNozzo's case is nowhere that extreme, it appears that Tony has also experienced a small personality change. Dr. Mallard has been working with him and assures me that Tony is regaining his access to him memories, but that this personality change will most likely be permanent."

If McGee hadn't felt guilty before, then this new information scuttled his ship into the bottom of an ocean of self-disgust. "I understand, sir."

Vance saw his expression and contemplated the situation. "Have a seat, Tim." He weighed his next words, hoping that he could finally do right to all involved. "I realize that this is your hail and farewell. However, is it possible that you would reconsider staying at NCIS?"

Tim was glad he was sitting down. "I've already made arrangements… I didn't think that there was a reason to stay here. I've done … Um, I don't know, sir?"

The stumbling reaction told Vance that this was the right avenue to pursue. "I think you've grown up a lot, Tim, and learned a lot this last week. Enough to make me think you deserve a second chance." The director leaned forward. "I still can't, and will never, ask Agent DiNozzo to work with you, given your behavior, but I would be willing to put you in as second to the head of Cyber Crimes. With a few caveats, of course."

"Like what?" the younger agent blurted out.

"Well, I would be willing to evaluate you and let you work your way back up to heading Cyber Crimes, once we've established your legal boundaries," Vance said. "It would also give you a chance to work on repairing the relationships you've damaged, allow you to build trust again. If you prove to NCIS that you have genuinely reformed, then I'd say returning to the field in the not too distant future is a distinct possibility."

"Why? Why offer me this?"

"Because, Agent McGee, I happen to agree with Rule 5. I don't like to waste good. I think you've learned enough today to make it worth the risk. But, the decision is yours. NCIS cannot compete with the salary you'll be earning at your new position."

Tim was tempted. Oh, was he tempted. "What about Gibbs and Tony?"

"You will have to work together occasionally. Besides, this will give you the opportunity to prove yourself." Vance shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I regret that I have given you encouragement to seek this office. I believe that I have contributed to some of the ambition issues that have caused other problems. And honestly, Tim, with the skeletons lurking in your file, I doubt you can aspire to the directorship any longer. But there's no reason why you can't turn your career around and work your way into a solid position."

Wasn't this a sticky situation? Tim thought. He knew from employment advice that counteroffers never worked out. The trust was broken, and the problems that were generated from accepting more money to stay at a position was never worth it. However, this wasn't a traditional counteroffer. This was less money, less prestige, but a chance to earn back some dignity and repair the damage he'd caused through his own pride and ignorance.

Looking around at the office he'd once coveted, he realized that Vance had aged considerably in the few years he'd been director. He saw what the toll was for having to deal with difficult cases, legal situations, and the day to day grind of herding felines posing as federal agents. Suddenly, aiming for the office wasn't nearly as appealing.

"I accept."

Leon Vance smiled broadly. "I'll make the arrangements."

Tim looked pained and cleared his throat. "Can I be the one to tell Gibbs? And Tony?"

The director's brows rose in shock. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Want to? Hell no. Need to?" Tim shrugged. "I think I need to. That way if they throw a fit, I can still walk away and take the other position."

Vance's mouth fell slack for a second before he controlled himself. "I think I can grant you that condition, Agent McGee. Go on. Let me know your final decision before the end of the day."

McGee stumbled out of the office, shocked at what had just transpired. Regret bubbled up at the thought that if he could've seen all this before, he could've avoided so much of the pain he'd inflicted on everyone, himself included. Returning to his desk, he glanced at Gibbs and Tony, who both seemed to be painfully focused on paperwork. The TAD was gone, possibly on a coffee run, since there wasn't a cup on Gibbs's desk.

"Um, Gibbs? Can I speak to you and Tony? In-in the conference room, please."

Both men stared at him, then exchanged glances and nodded. McGee stifled a slightly hysterical giggle as he observed their silent communication. They'd always been scary about that, and it had driven Ziva up the wall being left out. Okay, he corrected as they walked to the conference room. Maybe not the best choice of words to describe the woman.

All three of them silently took seats, and McGee shivered as he realized they had aligned themselves on one side of the table, facing him like he was in interrogation. McGee cleared his throat as they looked at him expectantly.

"I am about to break a rule here, but I don't care," he began, casting a glance at his former boss. "Tony, I owe you an apology. A sincere apology." He swallowed hard before continuing. "To my utter shame, I have learned some things about you today that I should've seen years ago. Abby, Ducky, and even Director Vance have all taken turns cutting me down to size. And I won't lie. I absolutely hate admitting this, but they were right."

He faced Tony directly. "I apologize for treating you like you're stupid, for flaunting my degrees at you and thinking that MIT and Johns Hopkins are better schools than Ohio State. You're very proud to be a Buckeye, and I took that to mean that that was all you could aspire to, especially since you majored in P.E."

"I didn't want to brag, McGee," Tony said quietly. "I'm proud of my first degree."

Tim's eyes widened slightly. "First degree? See, I broke another rule. I assumed." Looking curiously at Tony, he asked, "What other degrees do you have?"

"B.A. in Criminal Justice from Temple, and M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland," Tony said. "I got my second bachelors while I was in Philadelphia, and it only took five semesters since I took summer classes and got credit for my general education classes."

"And the master's?" Tim asked.

"I had just started it while I was in Baltimore, and when Gibbs recruited me, he let me finish it while I was here."

"I'm really sorry that I only found that out today," McGee said. "Look, I'll be honest. I can't sit here and apologize for everything I've done, because I've spent years being an ass, and we don't have that kind of time." He tried to ignore the grins that flickered across both faces. "Instead, I will try to focus on what is important. Tony, I undermined your authority and was insubordinate. I am profoundly sorry and ashamed of my behavior, and I ask for your eventual forgiveness.

"Gibbs, I chafed at your antiquated methods, and instead of facing you, I took it out on Tony." By this point, McGee's face was aflame with mortification, but he forced himself to face up to what he'd done. "I apologize for not being man enough to bring my concerns to you."

"Apology accepted," Tony said. "I'll work on the forgiveness."

Gibbs stared at him before speaking for the first time. "I understand the apologies to DiNozzo. Why me?"

Tim inhaled deeply and held it, trying to build up his courage.

"Breathe, McGee. You're gonna pass out."

The laugh burst out at the return of the brand of humor for which Tony had been known. "All right. Director Vance has given me the opportunity to remain at NCIS, if I so choose."

"In what capacity?" Gibbs asked, a frown gathering on his face.

"As second in Cyber Crimes."

Shock dominated their faces. "Director Vance wants to put you into a place where you have more access to hacking, rather than less?"

"Director Vance has offered me the opportunity to prove myself, which is why I would be second to Agent Grant, not in charge like I was last time I worked there." He sat and waited for the idea to fully sink in.

Gibbs exploded. "Hell, no!" he exploded. "You disobeyed a direct order to leave that case alone! Why the hell would he give you the opportunity to do it again?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I was, and still am, ready to walk out the door and go program for defense contracts," McGee said, calm in the face of his former boss's bluster.

"So, you want to take a cut in pay, a demotion, work under an agent who had worked for you the last time you were in that department. Why?"

McGee squirmed under Tony's intense stare. Was that part of his personality change, or had he always been capable of this? "Couple reasons. It gives me a chance to rebuild some trust and repair relationships that I trashed. Also…"

"What?"

Any color that had receded from McGee's face came rushing back full force. "I, um, I have a chance to regain some dignity."

Tony sat and stared silently, making Tim fidget even more. "And you're telling us this because you want to judge our reactions. If we throw a fit, no harm done, you move on to your new job. However, if we don't, you get to take a chance staying here." He looked at McGee curiously. "Why didn't you bargain to stay a field agent? DC would've been out, but there are a lot of other field agencies that would jump for an agent with your experience and knowledge."

Once again, Tony's insight was too close for comfort. "I did, originally. But I didn't like the restrictions the director laid on me. And today? This move to Cyber Crimes was his idea, not mine."

He watched Tony glance at Gibbs, and another silent conversation flashed between them. Tony shrugged. "If the director thinks it's a good idea, then I say it's between you and the director."

"Never thought I'd hear anything positive about Vance come out of your mouth," Gibbs said with a smirk. He stared at Tim. "It was Tony you screwed with most, so if that's what he says, take it and run. But you'd better pray that no hint of misconduct comes anywhere near you, McGee. I made mistakes with Tony once. Don't count on me doing it again."

"No danger in that," McGee said. "I know that this is an opportunity that I don't deserve. I have no intention of screwing this one up."

"Go let Vance know, then. I'm sure he's waiting for you."

"Was this one of the conditions of the director's offer? That you had to come feel us out?" Tony asked.

McGee shook his head. "No, this was me. I figured if I couldn't do the talking, then I didn't deserve the chance." He smiled and nodded toward the two men and left the room.

"What the hell is Leon thinking?" Gibbs spat. "Gets his balls busted for hacking into the FBI, after specifically being ordered not to, then he puts him in Cyber Crimes, where he can do it more?"

Tony laughed. "I think the director handled this one very well," he said. "First, Yves Grant is so by-the-books that he'll be an excellent resource to reign McGee in. Second, Grant is one of the few people in this building that can keep an eye on McGee. The man seriously knows his way around a computer, almost to the point of giving Abby a run for her money.

"Third, the fact that he didn't have to force McGee to come talk to us. I remember more about Tim's indiscretions than I'm sure he's comfortable with. Facing up to the music is not one of his strengths. The fact that he asked Vance to be the one to break the news goes a long way in demonstrating how much McGee's grown up."

"You saying that you trust him?" Gibbs growled.

"Are you kidding? Hell no," Tony said. "However," and he held up his hand to halt Gibbs's protest. "However, I am willing to give him the chance to earn it back. Which is something he couldn't do if he left."

He frowned at the validity of DiNozzo's points. "So, you're really okay with this?"

Tony nodded. "In spite of what they did to me, I never wanted to be the cause of ruining two careers. From what you've said, and what I saw, Ziva is probably a lost case. Even if the shrinks straighten her head out, she won't ever be able to hold a job in law enforcement again."

"Oh, that reminds me. When the hell did she hold a gun on you?" Gibbs asked.

Tony frowned. "Give me a minute." He sifted through memories, grabbing the one of him on his back, looking up at her. The pressure on his chest, on his thigh… He utilized one of the techniques that Dr. Ailerhaligan had given him. "Israel. That trip after I killed Rivkin. I can't – I can't quite remember if it was before or after the thing with Eli. She pushed me down, knelt on me, pushed her loaded weapon into my chest, my leg." He frowned at Gibbs. "I thought you knew about that. I thought that was why you left her behind."

"I left her behind because she gave me an ultimatum. Her or you." He threw a fierce glare at DiNozzo. "I never knew about what she'd done."

"Oh." Tony shrugged. "That's why I didn't tell you, because I figured I'd just irritate you telling you something you already knew." He waved it off. "It doesn't matter now. She's out of our lives."

Gibbs shook his head. "Sometimes, I wonder if I'll ever really get you, DiNozzo."

"Same to you, Jethro. Same to you."

 _AN: This is the chapter that really went squirrelly on me. I started writing with every intention of venting on McGee. His superior attitude over Tony really bothered me. Any leader watching over the day to day interactions between these two should have stepped in and corrected both of them. Gibbs, especially, should have nipped this whole stupid situation in the bud. Shepard and Vance should've done something, too, even if Gibbs didn't. The fact that they didn't is such poor writing._

 _Also, I tried to run McGee into the ground, but the more I tried to put the words in his mouth, the more he stood up and said no. I realized I would be as bad as the writers I'm complaining about if I continued. Tim McGee is a smart man, and I don't think that he would keep indulging his self-colonoscopy when he was blatantly shown the error of his ways. And I think the one it would hit hardest from would be Vance. He could rationalize away the rest of the crew's feelings, since they were friends with Tony, but Vance couldn't stand Tony. That would strip away Tim's last defense of his behavior._

 _So, McGee gets his redemption. He still got punished, so to speak, but he is given the chance to better himself. It's all on him, now._


	12. Chapter 12

"You really think putting McGee back in Cyber Crimes is a good idea, Leon?"

Vance smirked. "I actually expected you twenty minutes ago, Jethro." Waving Gibbs to a seat, he continued working. "I think that Agent McGee is a changed man, from our conversation earlier. Also, Agent Grant is one of the few computer specialists who can keep McGee in line."

Gibbs barked out a short laugh. "That's what DiNozzo said."

"It sounds like DiNozzo is improving, then."

"Yeah. It still takes him a while to get particular recollections out of his head, but he can do it. He's not perfect, can't access everything yet, but so far, it's not enough to make him a liability in the field."

Vance looked up. "That is excellent news." He nodded to the folder sitting on his desk. "There's David's official mental assessment."

Gibbs grimaced but grabbed the file and began reading. When he'd picked his way through it, he sighed and tossed it back on the desk. "So?"

"Well, the defense in Senior's case won't be able to call her. That's one plus," the director said. "On the other hand, I'll be meeting with our psychologists to see how her evaluations never picked up any hint of these problems. I've gone through every one of her annual evals, her compulsory exams after shootings, and the torture she went through before we got her back. There is nothing that shows that level of mental break."

"To be fair, she was trained by Mossad. They go through so much psy ops and torture training that I doubt most shrinks could see it."

"That doesn't make me feel any better, Jethro." Vance picked up a toothpick. "Maybe we should have psychological specialists here that focus on PTSD and traumatic shock disorders."

"Bit too late for Ziva, I think. How goes the rest of Senior's case?"

Gibbs was rather impressed with the depraved grin that slunk across Leon's face. "Senior? We've got him. Dead to rights."

NCIS~GOOMH

Tony had a few moments of quiet at his desk. Gibbs was upstairs with the director, McGee was off somewhere, probably doing paperwork for his official transfer to Cyber Crimes, and the new baby probies were off on one of their orientation training sessions.

Ducky and Dr. Ailerhaligan had been right; getting back into the flow at work had helped cement many of his memory retrieval processes. Even the ones he couldn't get to immediately usually came back to him, although sometimes hours later.

"Tony?"

He glanced up, startled that he'd been lost in his thoughts. "Hi, Abby," he said with a smile. "Got something for me to sign off on? Gibbs is upstairs."

"Not really," she said as she pulled the chair from Ziva's old desk and scooted it over to Tony's. "I've got a question, and I need you to answer me truthfully."

"I'll try."

"Have you been avoiding me?" she asked, her voice pitifully low.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I have, Abby, but not for the reason you think. JAG and Fornell have both told me that to make sure that there can be no claim of witness tampering, I can only speak to you regarding work. And since I'm stuck on cold cases right now, there hasn't been much of a reason to go to the lab."

When he started speaking, her heart fell somewhere below the knees, but as he continued explaining, she could see the truth. "Oh. I guess that makes sense," she said quietly.

"Listen, Abby, I know we haven't had a chance to talk. I promise that once this whole mess is behind us, I will have you over for a long talk."

She was used to a lot of different smiles from Tony, and this one was one of his genuine ones. "All right," she nodded. "I'll take that as a promise." Holding out the folder she'd kept in her hand, she smiled back. "Guess it's good that I actually did have something work-related with me. The DNA results you asked me to rerun."

"Ah," he said, flipping it open to read the results. "Somehow, I'm not surprised about this. Thanks, Abs."

Her eyes filled.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no! You're good." She sniffed. "It's just been a really, really long time since you've called me Abs."

"Dinner, a long talk, and maybe a movie. I promise," he said, his flirty grin flashing for just a second. "Now scoot. We've both got work to do."

"Yes, sir!" Abby said with a jaunty salute. She returned the chair and skipped back to the elevator and down to her lab.

NCIS~GOOMH

It took several more days to get the final paperwork completed. McGee, in his new position with the other cyber geeks, had contributed mightily to one aspect of the case. With JAG, the FBI, and NCIS pooling their resources, they assembled their case and asked for a meeting with Avery and Senior.

Fornell and Vance fronted the meeting, with Commander Barbara Killian from JAG running legal back up. They sat in one of the Hoover Building's conference rooms. Fornell had security standing by, and Vance had supplied a few Marines to help out. Gibbs and Tony sat in MTAC, back at NCIS, watching the live stream from the room.

"Mr. Avery, Mr. DiNotso," Fornell said as he stood, with Vance and Killian standing but remaining silent.

"I'm pleased to see that this situation can be remedied amiably," Avery said with a smile.

"Never involve lawyers," Gibbs grunted under his breath from his seat in MTAC.

Tony rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the screen.

"I think you took my words out of context," Fornell said. "I said I expect to reach some resolution here today."

The slimy PD cocked an eyebrow. "The only resolution will be dropping these farcical charges against my client."

Commander Killian cleared her throat and introduced herself. "I don't believe that it's possible to drop the charges, Mr. Avery. It seems that there has been interesting activity discovered in connection to this case. Now, in the matter of the assault of the federal officer, Special Agent DiNozzo, if Agent DiNozzo were of the mind to drop the charges, which he is not, it might be possible that we would be done here. However, some disturbing information has come to light."

Senior took a long look at the commander and smiled. She was an attractive woman, eye-catching in her trim dress whites. She could be an asset to his case, definitely.

"What kind of information?" Avery asked.

She met his smarmy smile with a steely glare. "It seems that there was a Freedom of Information Act request made for a Homeland Security file referencing this case. Now, as I'm sure you're aware, gentlemen, the Unites States government cannot release cases that focus on living individuals, only deceased ones. As only one of the three central individuals involved is actually deceased, the FOIA cannot be used to force the public release of this case.

"Exactly four days ago, there was an illegal hack into the secured systems of Homeland Security, the FBI, and NCIS, all looking for this case file. Fortunately, the information illegally gained was flawed, a dummy file that we had put in place. There had already been attempts to break into these systems. The hacker was not particularly skilled, and when he took the dummy file, he actually infected himself with a tracker virus. Mr. Avery, I'm sure that you're aware that evidence gained in this way will never be admissible in court. As I suspect that you planned to use the evidence to force Agent DiNozzo into dropping the charges -"

"I'm sorry, Commander," Randall Avery interrupted. "Personally attacking me will not get me to renege on my duties to my client. In fact, I have an airtight case to clear my client."

"Wrong," Fornell said. "We have an airtight case to not only put this …" and only because he knew they were being recorded did he curb his profane choice of words. "Your client away for a very long time, but you too."

Vance added his two cents. "We have your hacker in custody, and it's amazing what he's saying. Also, our experts are very talented at following the money, no matter how you launder it."

The three of them presented their case, laying out every single stop from where Avery had tried an end-around to get at Tony and Abby. The lawyer began sweating – these people were much more thorough than he'd given them credit for. The threat about following the money was particularly troubling, as he had approached a few of the people that DiNozzo, Sr. had suggested and had used some of the funds to pay for the information that they were discrediting.

It was when they started playing the recording of Senior in Abby's house that the meeting took a real downward turn. Senior had looked smug through most of the meeting, but when he started hearing his own words fill the room, his attitude changed. He squirmed under the direct gazes from the prosecuting side, especially when his words took an ugly turn.

"Mr. DiNotso, do you happen to know what the penalty is for witness tampering?" Fornell asked.

"It was just a visit. She was the one who got nasty."

"Shut up," Avery hissed.

"She got nasty because you got one of her friends to break and enter to let you in to her house, where she can expect to enjoy the right of privacy. Now, Mr. DiNozzo, which friend was this who let you in?"

He opened his mouth to answer when Avery's elbow hit him in the ribs. "What?" he snapped.

"My client chooses not to answer that question."

"Well, your client can choose not to answer, but we found fingerprints. Ms. David is getting sloppy."

"She wore gloves," Senior snapped. "How could she leave fingerprints?"

Back in MTAC, Tony smiled. "Gotcha."

"And how do you know she was wearing gloves?" Vance asked over Avery's cursing.

"I was standing there. She said it'd only take a minute. Said that Abby never gave her a key because she'd just pick the locks anyway. Where is Ziva, anyway? We were supposed to meet."

"Unfortunately, Ms. David is unavailable, and will be for some time to come."

"If you've arrested her, she still has the right to representation. And you can't just hold her to keep her from testifying."

Vance sat up stiffly. "Ms. David is not under arrest." He slid an abbreviated report of her mental evaluation. "She does not seem to be competent to stand trial for her own crimes, let alone testify for Mr. DiNozzo."

No. Ziva was the cornerstone of his defense. Avery tried to keep his expression neutral as he read the words that sank them.

"What's wrong with Ziva?" Senior asked, impatient to be left out of the loop.

"She's crazy."

"No, she's not. The young lady is in perfect health. I observed that myself recently."

The commander leaned forward. "As you've seemed to base your entire defense on suspected criminals, illegal activity, and illegally gained information, I believe the best thing you could do for your client is to take this deal we've prepared. And this is a take it or leave it deal. You have nothing left to bargain with."

"Ten years in jail? Hell no!" Senior squawked, peering at the paper.

"Shut up!" Avery snapped, throwing a nasty glare toward Senior. "May I have a few minutes alone with my client?"

"Of course," Fornell said, failing to keep his smirk subdued. "Knock on the door when you're ready."

As soon as the door was closed and the red light of the camera went off, Avery whirled on Senior. "Damn fool," he spat. "You don't have a choice now."

"What do you mean? We can beat them in court."

"No, we can't. They've sunk every single avenue of defense we were going to throw at them."

"What? No. I mean, we can get Ziva to testify…"

"Ziva is facing charges of her own, but according to this, she's been found not competent to face her charges." Randall Avery sighed and dropped his head in his hands. "The best we can hope for is a mistrial, which just means that we go to trial again. You are sunk."

"You're giving up, you little shit? You're no better than that piss-ant boy I have. Should've finished the job years ago."

Avery zoned out as he listened to Senior threaten him, his son, Abby, Gibbs, and the three that had just been in the room. He let it fade out as he sorted through the case. The new charges included pleading guilty to assault of a federal agent and witness tampering. What he didn't tell his client was that there were charges leveled at him for witness tampering and illegal hacking.

"Shut up, you old fool. You don't have a choice. The deal you're getting is better than you deserve. Ten years is a lot better than the twenty-five year minimum you're risking at trial."

"But this agreement says that I won't be able to contact Junior ever again."

"You bashed a bottle over his head and tried to kill him. What do you _think_ they're gonna do, invite you to Sunday dinner?" Avery had worked himself into a panic. "You sank us both."

"Me? You're the one who promised to get me off!"

"You attacked your son, a federal agent. From what I can tell, one of the few honest cops left in this country. You attacked him and tried to kill him in cold blood."

"I was at my hotel!" Senior screamed. "They're framing me for this!"

"People like Agent DiNozzo don't frame people. People like Dr. Sciuto don't lie. They don't have to. They follow the law. You were arrested at your son's apartment after admitting that you stole his key, then when you found out he'd changed the locks, got his super to let you in. _You_ did that, not your son, not Abby, not anyone. _You_ are the one who tried to bash your son's head open with his own liquor bottle. _You_ are the one who got David involved. Yeah, I should've known that the whole case she was spouting was too good to be true.

"I'm done. There's nothing else I _can_ do."

"Wait, what?"

Avery looked at the old man, who looked every minute of his age. "You're going to jail. You don't have a way out. If we'd played by the rules, maybe, _maybe_ I could've gotten you off. I wanted to. You were going to be the case that made me. I was gonna ride your train back to New York and live the easy life. Instead, you screwed us both."

"Oh, like I made you hire that hacker!"

"You kept riding me until I had to do something." If that hacker got jail time, Avery knew which ears to drop information into so that the jail term, short as it would be, would be memorable.

"What about Ziva?"

"She attacked her coworkers. When they questioned her, she went batshit. Literally off the wall crazy. And _that_ was who you wanted as your star witness."

Senior finally subsided into silence.

"Take the deal. It's not like you and your son hooked up for Christmas dinner anyway. Serve your time."

"Why aren't you getting me off?"

Avery laughed at the question. "Sometimes, the best a lawyer can do is damage control. You've damaged this case beyond redemption. This is me doing the best thing for my client." He leaned forward and enunciated each word clearly. "Take. The. Deal."

Twenty minutes later, the paperwork had been signed. Senior was placed back in cuffs and taken off to jail. Avery had been read his rights and taken off, too.

Tony melted into his seat. "It's over."

Gibbs heard the emotions in his voice. "Yeah."

"For all of us." Tony glanced at his boss. "That restraining order covers me, you, Abby, anyone at NCIS."

The look from Gibbs spoke volumes. "You didn't have to do that, Tony."

"Yeah, I did." He slouched and stared at the darkened screen. "I remember trying to play the game his way. Trying to get his attention, both positively and negatively. Money was all that ever mattered to him."

"Hey, we've got some more work to do," Gibbs said, trying to distract him. "If you need to talk, my basement is open tonight."

An enigmatic smile brightened the younger man's face. "It's been a long time since that option's been open to me."

"Well, I've been a bastard for a long time."

"Won't get an argument from me," Tony said with a smirk. When he saw Gibbs raise his hand, he stood up quickly. "Teasing or no, I won't let you go back to doing that."

The two men faced each other silently before Gibbs broke the silence. "You're right," he said softly. "Keep reminding me if I forget. But I'll try not to forget."

"Thank you." Showing that he harbored no ill feelings, Tony held out his hand to help Gibbs up. And laughed when the older man glowered at the assistance.

"I'm not that old," he grouched.

"I know."

 _AN: I realize that I have little legal knowledge, so I hope that any inaccuracies did not detract from the satisfaction of Senior finally having to pay for his actions. I know that, in our eyes, ten years isn't very long, but I think this would be Tony's final act of kindness. Long enough to hopefully teach his father the error of his ways, but still allow him to have something of a life after prison._

 _Final chapter coming up. Thanks so much for the wonderful support you've given me. I'm happy to announce that last night, I finally got my next book planted. YAY! Six completed, seventh started. One of these days, I will be published! LOL!_


	13. Chapter 13

_AN: This is it. Hopefully I can still throw a surprise in with this chapter._

After the guilty pleas were formally entered in the courtroom, and the sentencing scheduled, Tony tried to find time to meet with Abby. Unfortunately, between their work and prior engagements, another week had passed before they could get together.

Tony walked in his apartment building and saw the super in the hallway. "Hey, Bob," he called.

"Yeah?"

"I just want to let you know that my father has been served with a restraining order. He is not legally allowed in this building. If you let him in again, I will arrest you myself."

"Hell, Tony, I never thought about him causing trouble," Bob said. "He talked about how you never came to see him, how lonely he was for you. Just trying to help the fella out."

"What you did was help him put me in the hospital." Tony leveled a stern stare at the old man. "Do not let him in this building again. If you see him, call the cops. Call me. Call someone, but do not let him in."

"Okay, okay. It's not like I knew he was like that."

Sighing heavily, Tony tried not to take his anger out on Bob. "Look, I'd have thought that me constantly changing my locks would've been a clue. Or the fact that I threw him out last Christmas. Or any of the other things."

"Come on, Tony. I know you don't get on with him that well, but throwing him out?"

"He's an abusive old drunk. Take it from me. He's had more than enough chances already. Don't make me arrest you."

He ignored the rest of Bob's complaints, gathered his mail, and went upstairs to his apartment. His anticipation of spending time with Abby had been dampened by having to deal with the old man. Bob was sentimental and sympathized with Senior's games because he was lonely himself. His kids all moved out of DC as soon as they could get out, and they didn't come back to visit. However, Bob wasn't an abusive alcoholic, and that made a huge difference. The threat was real, though. On the off chance that Senior managed to worm his way out of prison early, he wasn't about to risk the man sneaking back into his place.

Tony changed out of his work clothes and into something more comfortable, namely a pair of comfortably worn jeans, an old Ohio State tee shirt, and his fuzzy purple LSU socks that Abby had gotten him for his birthday several years ago. He was looking forward to getting to spend time with his friend.

Most of the efforts on his memories had been work focused. That made sense, as he had psych and physical exams coming up soon. He had the itch to get back into the field. Working in the office had been good for him, but he was needed the balance and normality of doing what he excelled at, being a field agent.

He smiled at the knock on the door and walked over and unlocked it. Abby was standing on the other side, wound tightly as a spring but quietly containing it. "Come on in."

"Thanks," she said. Once inside, she let him take her coat and curled up in a chair.

"How are you?" they asked together, then laughed at their timing. He nodded to her. "You first."

"I'm okay," she said. "How are you?"

"Better. Relieved that Senior took the deal. I wasn't real thrilled about the idea of his sleazy lawyer beating me up over the fact that I can't process memories like I used to be able to. It sucks enough having to deal with that at work. Having to admit to that in public … Not good."

"I'm sorry, Tony."

This was the not-so-fun part. "For what?"

"I took your dad's side. So many times. I knew what you'd said about him, but after I met him, I thought that you must be exaggerating. There's no way that sweet man was capable of doing what you'd said he'd done. So I ignored what you'd said. Yes, I know. I'm wrong. Ducky told me about how wrong I was. But when I saw him smash that bottle over your head, I finally saw what you'd told me about."

"What did you do, exactly?" he asked. He'd heard her statement through Gibbs, and he'd seen her go off at a couple of the clubs they'd gone to, but he needed to hear it from her.

"I, uh, I kinda … tackled him," she said, her voice trailing off until the final words were nearly inaudible.

"You tackled my father."

"Yeah."

"You _tackled_ my father."

"Um, yeah."

"That's my girl," Tony said with a smile. "Come here." He opened his arms wide.

A shy grin lit her face and she lunged into his embrace. "Oh, Tony, I was so afraid that after all I did that you'd never forgive me, or worse, you'd forgive me because you thought I expected you to. I love you so much, and I never meant to hurt you so much. I never meant to hurt you at all."

"I know, Abby. You were one of the first bunches of memories that came to me. I could hear stuff going on around me, even though I wasn't really able to figure out where I was. I could hear you, telling me how sorry you were and how much you loved me."

"I do love you, Tony," she said, sitting up so she could look him in the face. "I love you so much, and I was so horrible to you and I-"

Tony shut down her flow of words by kissing her right on the mouth. He felt her shock, which deepened as he continued teasing, tasting.

Abby was frozen stiff. _Tony_ was _kissing_ her! Really kissing. Really, really kissing. It was about that point that she stopped thinking.

The kiss lasted for a couple long moments. They drew back and stared at each other.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but where did that come from?" Abby asked softly.

Tony's eyes widened. "You kept telling me you loved me."

"Oh. Well, okay."

"Do we not … do that?" he asked, confusion on his face.

She hesitated. "Not really."

"Oh." He hesitated for a moment. "Abby, I can remember going dancing with you, cuddling up and watching movies, even sleeping in your bed. And you kept telling me how much you love me." Tony frowned. "Am I missing something?"

Abby grew still. "Oh. Well, yeah, I can see where that would be confusing. But Tony, we've never, _never_ kissed like that before."

"Was it bad?"

"No! It was good. Really good. It's just that we've never done that."

The slow, sexy smile she'd seen him use with devastating effects slid into place. "Maybe we should, then. You know, try it again."

A shy grin started to appear on her face before he kissed her again. Abby had never seen Tony as anything more than someone to pal around with, to flirt harmlessly with. He was her friend, and she loved him dearly. However, as this kiss deepened and lengthened, she honestly wondered why _this_ aspect of their relationship had never once been explored.

Tony felt her grow pliant as he continued the kiss. He spent a brief moment searching through his memories, realizing that the only kisses he remembered were pecks on the cheek, but the idea had been planted, and he couldn't deny that kissing Abby was a wonderful thing to do.

His hands slid from her shoulders to her back, gently pulling her toward him. When one hand slid up the back of her neck to cradle her head, she moaned, and he used that encouragement to guide her in to a deeper kiss.

Her hands had been laying in her lap, stunned by the kiss, but when she felt his hands moving, she got brave enough to mimic his motions. Sliding her arms around him, she hugged, feeling the same solid, muscular physique she'd commented on when he'd risked himself to save her from Ari's bullet.

That started a cascade of thoughts, and she gasped and pulled back. "Gibbs!"

"We're kissing and you think of Gibbs?" He blinked in confusion. "What about him?"

"Don't you remember his rules? Number twelve?"

"Yeah, I do, Abby, but NCIS regulations do not prohibit coworkers from dating, particularly when said coworkers are in different departments. Do you honestly think that Gibbs would blast me for dating someone in HR, or accounting, like he blasted me for dating Paula or E.J.?"

She considered that. "Probably not. Rule Twelve does seem to apply more to agents than anything else."

"Besides, if we decide to continue with what we've started here tonight, which I would really like to, his rules really don't apply to me. They're _his_ rules. I know he expects his agents to obey them, and honestly, most of those rules are just common sense, so I do follow many of them. Like always carry a knife.

"But when it really comes down to it, Jethro Gibbs does not have any say in my love life. Or yours, for that matter."

"Oh." Abby thought about it. It was true; there were several married couples working within NCIS. Joseph Garcia worked as a janitor, and his wife Inez worked as an admin. The Reillys both worked in legal. She started to relax.

"Is he enough reason for you to stop this?"

"No. You're a great kisser, although I suspected you would be. I've seen you at work before." She shrugged. "It's just …"

"Weird?"

"More of an adjustment than weird. I mean, you've been in my life, close in my life, for so long that … Well …" She saw his silent entreaty to finish her thought. "I guess it's just me trying to figure out _why_ we haven't done this before."

Tony smiled. "I think Rule Twelve has influenced you more than you think."

"What about Ziva?"

"What about her?"

Abby shifted and frowned. "Well, I know she's gone crazy and all, but you guys still have your thing going and all."

"Wait, _what_?" he asked, blinking in confusion. "What _thing_?"

"You guys sleeping together. I mean, I don't need exclusivity, but I try to aim for it." She stopped when she saw the shock on his face. "You and Ziva aren't exclusive?"

He shook his head wildly. "Me and Ziva aren't anything. I've never slept with her, and quite frankly, I never intend to."

"What? But she said…"

His expression grew icy. "What exactly did she say?"

Abby hesitated, concerned by his cold reaction. "She said you guys had been sleeping together regularly for a long time. She even talked about you, kind of ranking you, I guess."

"Did she?"

She shivered, not liking how the conversation had turned, even though she was the one who'd steered it. "Yeah. She said you were pretty good, although you talked a better game than you played."

Tony snorted and shook his head. "Bet she was talking about Senior. They've been banging every time he comes to town." He saw Abby's look of shock and smiled wryly. "Don't you think I can tell when my father is sleeping with someone? I've known since the first time he showed up that he gets Ziva into bed every time he can. They're not particularly subtle about it, either.

"And Abby, if you thought that Ziva and I were sleeping together, why didn't you throw Rule Twelve at me then?"

She blushed, caught that she hadn't really considered the double standard there. "I guess I was kinda pulling for you guys. You look good together."

"I need so much more from a woman than looking good together." He sighed and shook his head. "I guess we do need to talk more out. How about you and McGee?"

"What about us?"

"With him remaining at NCIS, and since you guys dated, will that be a problem?"

She shook her head until her ponytails flew. "Oh, no. There is definitely no _thing_ left between me and Timmy."

He sighed again, pulling her close. "How about one more kiss, then we talk, and then we get something to eat? Or do you want to eat, then talk?"

"How about order, talk, talk while eating, then watch a movie?" She looked at him, shyer than she usually was in his presence. "We can still talk later. I think we've got most of the bad stuff out."

"Yeah." They settled on the takeout before returning to their conversation.

"Abs? I know you regret doing it, but why didn't you believe me when I said stuff about Senior?"

She looked down and squirmed. "He was so nice. And charming. I could see where you got your charm, although in retrospect, his came off as kinda slimy. Anyway, Ducky pointed out that I was too naïve, that I bought into his conman stuff too easily. And I did. I hate to admit it, but I did."

"He's conned a lot of people, many much more cautious and cynical than you." He felt her stiffen against him. "That's not an insult, Abby. You are open and caring and you want to believe the best of everyone. There's nothing wrong with that. You just need someone who can help you temper that reaction. If you continue this way, you will get taken in by someone who will hurt you."

"Like you or Gibbs?"

"Yeah." Tony smiled. "But even Gibbs got taken in, to some degree."

"What?"

"You think Gibbs would've let him strut around like he owned the place if Senior hadn't sweet-talked him into it? I know Jethro Gibbs doesn't let the world know when he gets taken for a ride, but it does happen."

"Oh." Abby didn't feel quite so bad knowing that even Gibbs could be fooled. "Is that why he didn't just shoot him on sight?"

"Maybe," Tony said, trying to deflect the question. Then he grimaced. "Probably. Gibbs knows more about my background with Senior than I'm comfortable with. He knew about the abuse, about how I got disowned. He knew about my mom committing suicide. But it was easy to ignore that, especially the way I acted. I worked hard to throw everyone off."

"Even your friends, who should've known better."

"Yeah, even you guys." He shifted. "Although it's not like McGee or Ziva had much sympathy for me, anyway."

Abby stiffened again. "I can't believe that they did all those things to you. I mean, why did they try to hurt you so much? Are they really that jealous?"

"McGee? I think maybe he was, at least for a while. Ducky said he opened his eyes about me."

"Ducky said the same to me."

"As for Ziva? I think she's been used for so many years, by Mossad, by Eli, by Senior, that she just broke."

She heard the sadness in his voice. "Did you love her?"

"No, that wasn't it. She was my partner. I tried to like her, but she just never struck me as genuine. She was so, I don't know, back and forth. One day she'd be sweet as sugar, the next she's threatening to kill me." He frowned. "I think that psych evaluation said something about being bipolar. But whatever it was, I couldn't quite accept her like she wanted.

"Also, she flaunted the sex appeal thing a little too much. I mean, I know I tried to play up like I was into the casual sex thing, and maybe that's why she took that angle with me. But I grew out of that phase long before I got to NCIS." He laughed. "It sure pissed off Kate, though."

"Everything pissed off Kate," Abby agreed. "It was fun to wind her up and let her go."

"Fun for you, maybe. But it seemed like I got accused of sexism every time I breathed. That gets old real fast. Anyway, with Ziva, it was like she needed to control me, and she got pissed when I wouldn't let her."

Abby thought about that for a minute. "That's possible. Whenever we went out, she always wanted to choose where we went, what we did. And she always left with a guy before I was done."

"You mean you were left at those clubs alone?"

"Sometimes. But when she chose the club, I usually took a cab about the time she left. Her clubs were a lot more tame than mine, although I didn't tell her that. The one time I said something, she got mad and didn't go out with me for months."

"The problem is she expected me to fall for her act, and I didn't want to. She is a beautiful woman, but there is no way I'd want to crawl into bed with her." Tony dropped another kiss on the top of Abby's head. "I'm much more interested in seeing if I can take those images of you and expand on them."

"Tony, I've never thought of you like that."

"Never?"

She blushed. "All right, not _never_. But that attraction seemed like a dead end." Glancing up at him, she said, "I'm not exactly your type."

"And what type would that be?" he asked quietly.

"Gorgeous and smart, like Jeanne. Or ballbusters like Paula."

Tony was quiet for a long moment. "I loved Jeanne. I can't deny it. That relationship was as star-crossed as any of Shakespeare's. Even as I wanted to make a life with her, I knew, somewhere in the back of my head, that it wouldn't work. Paula?" He frowned. "I'm a little sketchier on Paula. I have the memories, but they won't connect as smoothly as they do for Jeanne. Or you."

"Tony, I'm interesting looking, at best. I'm too tall, too geeky, too goth, too … everything. I'm not exactly glamorous."

"Maybe not, but you're Abby. The woman who's been by my side for all these years. And I have always thought you were quite lovely." He smiled and laid his fingers over her mouth to stem her protest. "I admit, you don't have traditional beauty, but let me tell you, that year you dressed up for Halloween as Marilyn Monroe, you were a stunner. And that is in the traditional way.

"So the fact that you choose to dress the way you do just makes you a little more special, a little more Abby."

She grinned and snuggled into his chest. "Maybe we can watch a movie now. We've talked a lot."

"Comedy, drama, action, classic, or rom-com?"

"Whatever. You pick."

Tony chose The Fifth Element, and they snuggled on the sofa.

NCIS~GOOMH

The next evening, Gibbs was in his basement, working on his boat. He heard the footfalls creak overhead, and blinked in surprise when it took him a second to recognize them as Tony's. It had been far too long since he'd visited. Or, more likely, Gibbs thought with a disgusted grimace, since he'd felt welcome. Either way, Tony was back.

He cleaned out two mason jars. Tony made his way down the stairs and took a seat, just as he had in the past.

"Drink?"

"No, thanks."

Gibbs shrugged and went back to running the planer across the planks. He waited for Tony to speak, and was relatively surprised when the younger man was silent. Glancing over, he saw his second sitting, watching him with interest.

This new Tony was a lot quieter than the old one. He didn't talk for the sake of noise anymore, and rather surprisingly to Gibbs, he took no crap in the office. His method of dealing with Ziva by poking her, daring her to do something, then quietly putting her down had been the most obvious break in behavior. However, his quiet dealing with McGee, especially since the agent had taken the position in Cyber Crimes, was as large a deviation, if not as public.

Tony simply operated as if he had the respect of anyone and everyone who crossed his path, respect that he had earned over his tenure at NCIS. He did deserve it, and calmly and quietly corrected anyone who tried to treat him like the old Tony. Apparently, the old Tony was gone for good.

So Gibbs let him sit until he was ready to talk. He gestured toward the sandpaper and was pleased when Tony picked up a piece and silently took direction from the older man about which pieces to work on. They worked in silence, and Gibbs smiled. This was good.

"You do realize that your rules aren't truly enforceable on me, right?"

Gibbs stopped, shocked, and stared at Tony.

"Most of them are good, common sense rules, and as such, are easily followed. Never screw your partner. Always carry a knife. Never involve lawyers."

"So which one are you tossing to the wind?"

Tony met his gaze squarely. "Number Twelve."

Gibbs thought furiously about who he could be dating, or interested in dating. There was the new agent on Reynolds's team, the blonde. She was pretty but Tony hadn't showed much interest in her. There was the redhead in accounting; she was attractive, too, but too airheaded for Gibbs. And for the new Tony, he decided. He shuddered at the next face. "Not Ziva."

"Hell no. She hates me. Besides, I've never done anything with Ziva, in spite of what she's told."

The closed off expression on the younger man's face made Gibbs frown. He'd heard vague scuttlebutt about his agents, but hadn't heard that it had been coming from Ziva. Gibbs knew damn well that for all his talk, Tony was private about his love life.

"Who?"

"Abby."

"What?" The tool fell from his hand with a clatter onto the concrete floor, but for once, it went ignored.

"Last night, Abby and I decided to date." Snagging his boss's astonished gaze squarely, Tony stilled his own work as he continued. "There are no NCIS regulations regarding personal relationships between coworkers, particularly coworkers in different departments. Even if this doesn't work out, we've been friends for so many years that I don't see why we can't remain friends afterward. However, I think, and hope, that this will work." A glimmer of a smile softened Tony's face. "We've loved each other for years. This is just trying out a different kind of love."

Gibbs hadn't been so shocked since his ex-wife had blindsided him with the golf club. Tony? And Abby? They'd been brother and sister for so long… His thoughts focused on those last words. They had loved each other for years, up until the last couple, at least. They had drawn apart, and when he thought about it, Senior probably had a lot to do with that. Ziva and McGee weren't innocent, either. Between those three people, they explained a lot of how Abby had let herself be pushed away from Tony.

However, her reaction at finding Senior attacking his son had stripped the blinders from her eyes. She had been so apologetic to Tony, especially after he woke in the hospital. Gibbs wasn't surprised that she'd made back up with her friend. "Who made the first move?"

"I did." For the first time, Tony looked a little less certain. "She was babbling, trying to convince me yet again that she was sorry for all the pain she'd caused me, and I kissed her to stop her talking."

"Why in the world was that your reaction?"

Tony shrugged. "I thought it was right. I had so many memories of dancing with Abby at clubs, of sleeping in her bed, of cuddling watching movies, of hugs any time of day or night… It seemed like the right thing to do."

"What was her reaction?"

"Shock, I think. She explained very succinctly that we _didn't_ do that. So I did it again, and we both liked it."

Gibbs shook his head absently. "Tony, of all the women in the building I expected you to say, Abby Sciuto wasn't the one."

"If you say she's not my type, I'll have to call you out on that one. You know damn well that my 'type' is nothing more than an act. You saw through my player façade before you offered me a job."

Caught on that point, the older man smiled slightly before acknowledging the fact. When Tony explained the situation, it made perfect sense, particularly with his memory issues. Gibbs knew for a fact that over the years, Tony and Abby had done all the things that he'd described, and probably a lot more. He knew their relationship had never been sexual, but … Maybe it was time they tried something new.

"You do realize that there is a damn good reason for Rule Twelve?"

"Yep. Jenny was kind of proud of that fact, actually."

Gibbs opened his mouth to ask how he knew that, but closed it when he recalled all the time they'd spent together on his undercover fiasco.

"Besides, Gibbs, this is not the same situation and you know it. We'll keep it on the quiet, if you wish, but you have no right to try to run your agents' personal lives."

A wave of pride swept through him. Tony had always had the balls to stand up and tell him when he was wrong. No other agent had ever done that with him. "You're right. I don't."

Tony hesitated. "Do you want us to keep it a secret?"

Gibbs smirked. "I don't think that's necessary. Or possible, for that matter. When has Abby _ever_ kept a secret?"

It was Tony's turn to acknowledge Gibbs's point. "Fair enough. I don't plan on any PDA at work, and I'll explain that to Abby."

"Yeah, good luck with that."

"I don't expect her to stop being herself, and if it breathes, she'll hug it. Even a few inanimate objects, like Bert and Mass Spec. But I know what's appropriate for work. Hugs are expected, anything else, we'll keep to ourselves."

Relieved, Gibbs nodded. "That makes sense. And I'd miss the hugs if they were to all shut off."

"I'm not out to change Abby. I don't want to. She's a friend to too many people for me to want to shut her down." Tony went back to sanding. "We've survived so much as friends. I want to see if we can take the next step, and make it forever."

A genuine smile spread across Gibbs's face. "If it helps, I think you can."

"No offense, boss, but the _last_ person I'd take relationship advice from is you." He waited for the expected grunt of laughter, conceding his point. "Still, if life had been just a bit different, I think you and Shannon would've been together for the long haul."

He hid his reaction by retrieving the tool from the floor. Again, Tony had hit a little too close to home. Keeping his face down, he began working again.

"I suppose I don't have to tell you about hurting her."

Tony ignored the roughened voice. "If I hurt her, you're the last person I'll have to worry about. Abby will just kill me in my sleep and get rid of the body."

Another snorted laugh erupted, and they worked in silence for a long time. "I wish you and Abby the best of luck."

"I know, boss. I know."

 _AN: All right. All done now. I have a couple of ideas poking around about how to continue this, but nothing has grabbed me the way this story has, so I probably won't do a sequel to this._

 _For anyone hoping I'll do a sequel to Painful Treasures, I'm not sure that one will ever come to pass. I've worked on it, off and on, for years, and it just isn't coming together. I do hope that one day I'll give you guys the closure on that one that you deserve._

 _Thanks for hanging around for this ride. I really hope you enjoyed it._

 _~ashleezak_


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